So Cold
by WolfoMatic
Summary: We did it! We hit the 400 visitor milestone! Thank you so much for reading my story! And if you haven't, here's the summary: This story cannot be explained in one short summary, so instead, treat yourself and read it! This is still in the works, but I hope to finish it because you guys seem to like it! ENJOY AND HAPPY READING! :D And thank you so much for your love and support!
1. Authors Note

p style="text-align: center;"PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING/p  
p style="text-align: center;"Hello everyone! It's WolfoMatic here! I would like to thank all of you for your time in reading this fanfic!/p  
p style="text-align: center;"Before you read, I would briefly like to say that even though this may not be the best fanfic ever,/p  
p style="text-align: center;"I still am going to add to it./p  
p style="text-align: center;"I don't care for the popularity, no, I care if the reader enjoys the book./p  
p style="text-align: center;"What's the point in adding to a book that blows?/p  
p style="text-align: center;"I thank you for all the views I've gotten so far. I never thought I would even get up to 30 views!/p  
p style="text-align: center;"Anyways, enjoy the story, and hope to see you again!/p  
p style="text-align: center;"Questions, suggestions? Post a review! I'll make sure to read it!/p  
p style="text-align: center;"Thanks! 3/p  
p style="text-align: center;"-Wolfy/p  
p style="text-align: center;" /p 


	2. Intro

_So Cold_

_A fanfic by WolfoMatic_

My sheer freezing body is the only thing I can think about.

I lay dead still on the cold wood floor of an abandoned cabin, or as I like to call it, home. The cool winter breeze outside proves to be outmatching the not-well built panelling of the walls, so therefore it feels as though I were standing in the middle of a bizzard. It's been 3 months since the accident occured. Three months of Equestrias demise slowly building up to that faithful day when maybe, possibly, the world will be saved. But...that most likely will never happening, concidering multiple ponies have already attempted to end the streak of constant winter. All I can do as of now...is hope. Hope that one day, some how, a pony will come and save us all from this frozen hell, and care for us in the days of need.

A couple of weeks ago, I was treaking the area for shelter to use for a temporary or, if I was lucky enough, a perminant home. I walked chest deep in mounds of snow, continueslly marching along until I felt my legs would give out. When suddenly, I stumbled upon what looked like a small cozy cabin, completely empty. I causuouslly creaked open the door (for I didn't want to encounter a gang or whatnot) and to my surprise, nothing. So thats where I am today, same cabin, same enviroment, nothings changes since then. Tomorrow I hope to explore a territory most fear: The Forest Of Powder. I'll put those thoughts aside, for I need to rest because I need all the energy I can get for tomorrow. And hopefully, it'll all turn out ok.

I wake up with a sensation of being watched. This feeling is new to me, because I rarely ever see another pony around, especially in a secluded area like this. I find my self quickly pulling myself off the ground and frantically looking around. Nothing. A false alarm. I begin to relax, when I feel the impact of a bat slam me in the back of the head. Then, blackness.

I open my eyes and see two figures of ponies with hoodies covering their faces. They seem to be discussing something, maybe what to do with me perhaps? I then close my eyes.

My eyes flicker open again to see the same two figures standing to my right, but this time, theres another pony. This pony isn't wearing a hood. Instead, he's showing off his perfect brown hair and his striking blue eyes. It seems like he wants to show off. He hands the two hooded men a briefcase full of money, then my eyes shut once more.

I groan and sit up, this time, the two hooded mares arn't here, nor is the Perfect Pony. Instead, I'm not in my cabin anymore, no, I'm hung in between 3 sturdy branches sagging close to the ground. I suddenly fall back due to a lack of balance; Luckily, but not surprisingly, my impact was cushioned by a giant patch of snow. I got up, shook off the snow, and took a moment to recap what just happened. It seems as though I was just Robbed, Odviously, but what was that Perfect Pony doing there? And why was he giving them money for the actions they did?

I put my questions aside and stand up on my four hooves. My messy brown hair fells wet, and my yellow body is smothered in snow. Not knowing what to do, I slowly scan the area to see where I was. After a minute or two of scouting out the area, I found out where I was. _Shit! _I whisper to myself. I was in one of the most dangerous places other than The Forest Of Powder: I was in Ponyville.


	3. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

Gangs run this place like parasprites to uncharted territory. Any loners, such as me, usually stay far away from this place due to reports of pony corpses scattered in the area. Because of said things, I keep to myself and make sure not to end up in a place like this. But unluckily enough, I just landed smack down in one of the worst places in equestria. All I can do now is run and not look back. But something seems strange...something...

I shake my head and look around for a way to escape. The main in the middle of town is suicide. Going around the edges is also a bad idea; gangs like to camp out of town and set up traps for any stupid pony. The only option I have is...well...i'n between the outskirts and the center. Looking about, I quickly gather my wits and make a dash for it. If i'm lucky enough, I may be able to-

"Where do you think you're goin, pal?" Someone yells

I skid to a halt, but I don't look behind me.

Crap.

"Yeah thats right, i'm talking to you, bud!" That same voice says

I stay still and continue to look forward as if he wasn't there.

"I think hes deaf, boss." Says another mare, an obviously young one.

"Yeah, what an-" A third voice starts

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YA! I MAY GO DEAF MYSELF LISTENING TO YOU TWO!" The Boss yells

Silence.

I hear footsteps getting closer, my mind racing with each step they take. It finally gets to the point where they're so close, I can nearly feel them breathing on my neck.

"Ey, you're new around here, aint ya?" The Boss askes.

I don't reply

"Now, lemme run ya through how we treat newcomers like you..."

I shutter.

The Boss smiles.

"First, me and my boys are gonna tear ya limb from limb." He says in a calm manner "Next, were gonna take ya back to our shop and use your body parts to feed the dogs, ain't we?" The Boss says to his crew

The Crew agrees.

"Finally, were gonna make sure to steal all ya belongings and sell em for all the money we can get!" He said

So this is how I'm going to die. To some heartless bastards who can't even use proper grammar. What an interesting way to go.

"Now, I would hate to spoil the ending to ya, but we gonna have to kill ya! Nothing personal." The Boss says with a wicked laugh.

No, this can't be how I die I thought. I need to fight back for my life! I can't hide in she shadows forever! This is life or death. Any wrong choice I make can end me.

"Wait." I say as calmly as I can

The laughing stops.

Silence.

"It talks!" One of the crew member says, followed by a laughing fit

Laughter fills the air.

"Stop laughing before I..I.." I say, embarassed with myself for not thinking of anything to say after that.

"Or what? You'll cry like the little baby you are? WAH! I'M A LONER! WAH! NOBODY LOVES ME! WAH, WAH, WAH!" The other crew member says, sticking his hooves by his ears and sticking out his tounge, making him look like a retarted elf trying to be funny.

I've had enough of this. If only I could-

Suddenly, I notice something sticking out of a patch of snow.

A Glock 22 with a fully loaded mag inside.

Bingo.

Without thinking, I dash towards the gun and dig frantacally out of the ground. I ignore the cold my hooves feel when I dig out of the snow, I'm used to it by now. You wouldn't belive what months of intense weather can do to you. Pushing those thoughts aside, I pull out the gun. Its heavier than I thought, for I've never wielded a gun before in my life. But I've seen enough to know how to point and shoot at least.

Luckily, the men are distracted with each other, joking about this situation to notice me point the pistol at the boss.

Steady...Steady...

_Bang bang bang bang bang bang!_

To my surprise, this pistol shot more than one bullet at once. A machine pistol, cool.

I look up from my gun to see The Boss holding his right shoulder, blood staining the ground around him, making it look like a big cherry snowcone. He's sitting in a slouching position, both stallions on either side asking him what happened. They're too distracted by the bullet wound to look around and see who shot that bullet in the first place. I take the initiative and run, run until I feel my legs might give out at any moment.

Seconds later, i'm being chased by both the stallions, this time wielding wooden baseball bats. I'm making sure to stay close to the outskirts and near ponyville, but maybe I can loose them if I do something clever, something...

An Idea sparks in my head.

I pick up snow as I run and pack it tight together. I then start throwing them at the stallions right in the eyes. The stallions dodge a few, but give in after they both get pelted right in the eyes. They collapse over each other and wipe the snow off their faces. But my plan worked, because now i'm way ahead of them. Lost sight of em in fact.

Maybe I am going to survive this apocalypse after all.

Maybe...


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I've been running for quite a while now. Those thugs lay behind me, dazed and confused, as I chart more territory along the way back home. I start to amble for a small amount of time, for there's only so long a pony can run for. I look down at my watch and squint to see the tiny green text across the screen:

6:30 P.M.

I've been running for almost all day now.

I stop, stunned, and look around me. I'm not sure where I am now; this area seems to be clear of danger and vacant...perfect. There's a shoveled out dirt trail snaking in between frost covered meadows and bushes. Trees form here and there, but it doesn't seem to be a forest I'm in. Going down the trail further would most likely be suicide because for one I'm not familiar with this territory. But, then again, I can't go back either. The word most likely has spread around Ponyville about the bosses death, and if I head back, I'll probably have a bounty on my head or whatever.

I take a deep breath.

And I begin to march further.

I march and march and march forward without taking a second to observe the scenery around me. At this point, I don't give a rats ass if some psycho killer jumps from a hole in the ground and covers me in pudding while he eats me to death. I stop, surprised of what I just thought of. Why would a psycho killer-

I shake my head. I can't afford to get distracted by little things. I must stay focused if I want to survive, that is.

Eventually, I come to a point where the trail ends. A big brown sign reads DEAD END! Great, now what I think to myself. I scan the area for anywhere I can go from here. I look in the distance. Nothing of importance there. I look behind me. Nothing I missed. I look in the snow. Nothing seems to be-. I spot a series of hoof prints leading to a jumble of broken trees aged with snow and dead leaves. Maybe I can get help from this person.

Or maybe, they'll decide to kill me instead.

I wake up in a black, cold world.

I'm lying on the floor, but not like the floor at home, but a cold, hard, concrete floor. My head stings as I slowly sit myself up. What just happened? I try to soothe my head of its pain, but I look down to see all four of my hooves tied up in sturdy rope. I also notice a wet cloth tied around my mouth. I scream for someone to help, but all that comes out is a faint mumble.

This is the end.

This is truly the end.

I collapse back on the ground and tuck my tied up hooves as close to my body as I can. I try to recap why I'm here in the first place, but the only thing I can remember is following the hoof prints and examining the wood. Then bam, here I am. I struggle to remember more, but fail.

I then begin to cry.

It's like a silent cry; tears streaming down your face, but no noise comes out. I let the tears flow as I lay there helplessly. At least, I think, I lived a sorta fulfilling life. I mean, I got a job, I had a girlfriend, everything. And now...look at me. Pathetic.

I cry and cry until a light shines into the room. I squint my eyes, not used to the light. When my eyes get adjusted, I see a figure standing in the doorway.

Holding my pistol.

Aimed at me.

My eyes widen to the fullest extent as the figure nears me slowly. I try to wiggle away, but alas, it's not easy to do so in rope. I then freeze and give up trying it get away. I then look into the eyes if the stranger. With the lights off, it's nearly impossible to see who the pony is. Is it a boy, a girl, an alien, what is it? It nears me and gets so close it's nearly touching me. It then unites the rope around my mouth. I gasp and take numerous deep breaths, glad to have that horrid thing off of me. The figure then walks by the door and flicks on the lights.

As of right now, I couldn't care less about what happened to me.

And if I'm lucky,

Nothing bad will happen at all.

Nothing...


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Who is this pony?

The figure stares at me, looking stunned at who I am. They open their mouth to say something, but then close it it as If it doesn't matter anymore. We stare at each other for a while. Then, they finally speak.

"I'm sorry."

They walk out, and shut the door behind the, without looking back.

I wake up to a sharp pain on my cheek

I'm sitting in a wooden chair. In front of me is a folding table, and above it is a single hanging light. This room is like an interrogation room; small, not much furniture, and always being watched. The only thing that's not different is me being tied up. I can't look behind me due to the rope being extremely taut, but I feel a presence nearby. I make a daring move.

I speak.

"Who...who are you?" I ask

Nothing.

"I kn...know you're there. Just...please, tell me why I'm here." I ask

Silence.

"Look, I know these times are tough, and you can't afford to trust anyone, but please tell me why the hell I'm here."

I wait. Nothing happens at first, but then I hear footsteps rounding the back of my chair.

The figure then arrives at the front of the table.

They're wearing a black hood with a P for Ponydetta mask. They look like the same age and size as me, but I can't tell. This...thing, is creeping me out.

They then speak.

"How did you find this place?"

I was taken back at first because I forgot how I did arrive here. All I could remember was arriving at a tree. I decide to not talk. That would be best.

"Let me rephrase that" They say.

They pull out my Glock, my own Glock, and point it at me.

"How the bloody hell did you find this place?"

Maybe it's better if I do talk.

"I...I was walking on a dirt path because I was lost, and I...um...saw hoof prints in the snow and I followed them to a tree, and that's all I remember." I say honestly.

They cock their head in my direction and ask:

"Are you sure that's all you remember?"

I nod.

They cross their hooves. "I don't believe you." They say.

Of course you don't.

"Well...you don't have to!" I blurt out quickly.

"And why not?" They ask.

"Because I don't belong here in the first place! Now, answer my question. Why am I here? Why am I tied up and why am I being questioned?" I ask. What a series of stupid questions I think to myself. They're never going to answer them. Ever.

The figure sighs and begins to walk around the room standing on 2 hooves. They put the other 2 behind their back.

"We found you outside like a lost idiot." They say. "We thought you weren't a threat at first, until we saw that Glock of yours." They stop and show me the Glock. "You recognize this, don't you?"

I slowly nod.

"Good. We then thought the only thing we could do was keep you captive here until you gave us answers. So here you are." They finish.

I stared at them. Why did they take me as a threat with a Glock I can barely use?

"We thought someone in particular sent you to kill us." They say.

Wait, there are multiple of you?!"Someone named Rogue Askew." They say. "He's been trying to kill us off one by one since day 1." They explain.

"Why are you telling me all this?" I ask

They shoot a glance at me.

"Because you won't live long enough to tell the tale." They say plainly.

My heart sinks into the pits of my stomach.

"Now, we can't let our patients leave, or else they'll blow out cover, and we'll be dead for sure." They explain. "So we have a variable to this: Never let them leave." They say with no enthusiasm at all.

I need to know who this person is.

I say something that even I scare myself by saying it.

"Alright, I get it. You can't trust anyone because your caught up in your own needs. You think the world revolves around you, but think again, hotshot. Just because you and your group keep prisoners captive doesn't mean anything. You think you're making a big impact on the world, well think again. If you really want to strike fear into the hearts of many, try taking out more important ponies. Not strays mislead into the direction of your torture pit. But, what do I know? After all, you can shoot me at will at any time. So I'll strike a deal with you. You take off that mask of yours, and I tell you everything I know. What do you say?" I say in a loud voice

Silence.

Even though I feel scared that I could die at any second for saying that, I feel proud with myself for standing up for myself.

They then step closer and untie my hooves.

I stick out my hoof.

"Deal?"

They hesitate.

"Deal." They say, and at that very moment, they snap off their mask and out comes the face of a pony I know as well as anyone in Ponyville or Canterlot or anywhere.

"FLUTTERSHY?!" I exclaim.

She nods her head.

"But...but...I thought you were dead! Everyone thinks your dead!" I say.

"Well...not everyone" She says quietly.

"Well...who doesn't-" I start.

"It's not important!" She yells.

I look at her, wide eyed, Why is she mad with me?

She sighs, and says "Now, you need to keep your part of the deal. How did you end up in this place?"

So I tell her, I explain the cabin, the boss, getting lost, everything. She nods as I tell the story. And when I finish, she seems to understand what I'm feeling.

"It looks like you're a little stronger than I thought you were." She said with a smirk.

"Well...I do know a lot about self defense." I say

"But you don't know how to fire a gun?" She says half smiling.

"I...uh..." I turn red.

"I'm just kidding. But seriously, you did kill that stallion?" She asked.

I reply, half confused, with "Well, he looked badly wounded. He may have bled out, but I'm not so sure."

She nods. "Well, you can't go back now. I never thought I would say this, but you can stay here just for tonight, got it?" She says. "And that doesn't mean anything. When you leave tomorrow, you don't speak a word about this group, got it?" She says threateningly.

"Ok, ok, I get it!" I say.

"Good." She says. She gets up and leads me to the door of the room. She gets out a ring of keys and searches for a little until she finds a small golden key. She puts the key in the lock and turns it. The door swings open and concrete hallway with doors on the sides welcomes us in front of us. I follow her through numerous labeled doors until we arrive in a room labeled Storage Closet.

Wow. Out of all the places they could've put me in, it had to be here. I sigh as Fluttershy finds another key, except this one is a bit larger than the interrogation room key. She puts it in the lock, and opens the thick metal door. It takes a while for the door to open, but when it does, I feel less excited than ever before.

She pushes me inside and I land on a pile of empty cardboard boxes. She then quickly says:

"Lights out at 8. Dinner today is the usual. If you need anything, don't bother trying to get us. Figure it out yourself." She says in such an unenthusiastic tone that it sounds like she was trapped in a padded cell with nothing to do but to talk to a brick.

She shuts the door, and I'm left alone with myself and my thoughts of today.


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I think I've been laying here for about an hour now.

This room so far hasn't been as bad as I thought. I mean, there are some things to do if I'm bored. There are a couple of chemical components, dangerous ones, used for cleaning. I took some of that. There's a medium sized unused brown backpack. I'll take that too. Hell, I bet if I kept looking, I would find the cure to every sickness or something!

So that's what I'm doing, I'm looking and looking for things I could use on my journey. Could I use an old tattered mop for anything? Probably not. I continue scouring the room when I come across a wooden crate and a crowbar. Well, I can't carry the crowbar in my bag, it's too big, and if anyone here saw me carry that, they would open fire. So I use the crowbar to open the crate unaware of what the crate reads on the side.

I slide off the lid and dig through layers and layers of wooden shavings. Books, a map, a compass, and a flip knife are all I see. Perfect. I loot all the treasures and stuff them away in my bag. I'm all set for a journey ahead; all the supplies I need are in my bag, and I got them for free! I decide to look on the side of the crate to see what it reads:

CLASSIFIED

Classified, why is it classified I thought. I look at the items and murmur to myself What secrets are you hiding?

"None." I hear a voice behind me say.

I spin around and almost drop all the relics. I stagger back, scared of what this person might do to me.

"Easy, easy. I'm not gonna eat ya." He says jokingly.

I freeze and feel surprised to finally hear a voice that sounds somewhat friendly.

"Here." He says. He sticks out a hoof and gestures for me to grab it. I do, and he pulls me up.

"There. Now what were you doing going through something you weren't supposed to?" He asks.

"I...I was looking for something to sell for food and water." I lie.

"Ah. The old scavenger trick, eh? I hear ya, I hear ya. Hey, times are tough. What can I say?" He seems to be speaking in a kind tone. I like it.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Eagle Eye." He says. "And who are you?"

I hesitate, thinking if I should come up with a fake name.

"DubNeon. Or at least that's what my DJ name used to be." I say, actually telling the truth.

"DubNeon, I like it. I'll just call you Neon for short."

I shrug. Neon is what my parents and even my old friends used to call me. I thought that was abandoned a while ago. But, apparently not.

"So what's a stallion like you doing here?" Eagle Eye asks.

"Accidentally found myself here, and got tied up a few times, then I got questioned, then bam, here I am." I explain.

"Sorry for that by the way. I tried to get em' to not tie you up, but alas, I'm not as high rank as ol'

Fluttershy, and she said that's what would be best." He apologizes.

Well then, I learned that Fluttershy is a jackass. Oh the things that you learn.

"It's alright." I say. "I don't mind it here. I'm just confused on this whole group thing you and Fluttershy are in." I sigh.

"Here." He pats a stack of dusty assorted books as I go over there and sit. He sits himself on a crate and clears his voice. I now notice his features up close: red pelt, black mane and tail, green eyes, and a cutie mark of a sniper crosshair. He's a little bigger than me, and he's equipped with a black beanie and hoodie, but other than that he looks like your average pony.

"It all began when the Eternal Winter came." He begins.

"I had been at work that day. It seemed like the average boring day in the Canterlot Munitions Factory. Nothing had been happening for the majority of the day. Then before I know it, it all changes. Glass shattering, ponies screaming, snow blowing at the speed of light, you remember how it was like that day, right?"

I nod. Oh yes, I remember that day. That day that ruined my life forever. That day that I will never forget as long as I live. That day...

He seems to read my mind "We all hated that day. And we still do. That day, I lost more than just my job. I lost my one true love. My wife."

We both fall silent. The air feels cold around us like it always does. But something about it feels strange. Or maybe it's just me. It appears I'm feeling something that I haven't felt in forever.

Sympathy.

"When I watched Canterlot slowly die out in the chaos of the frost, I ran for home. I ran and ran and barely ignored the tired feeling in my legs. When I did arrive home, however, all that was there was a pile of concrete and snow." His eyes are watering now. He sniffles and wipes his eyes. "I frantically dug away from the concrete, yelling BETHANY? I dug and dug until I found her, eyes wide, mouth open, and cold. So very cold. I grabbed her and held her in my arms until I was blinded by a sudden rush of hail. Then the world went black. I woke up here the next day, with soup, a blanket, crackers, and a single table with a light. These people took care of me when even they were weak. They gave me a home when mine had been destroyed. They...they're like a family to me. They're there for me when needed, and in return I'm there for them. Anyways, a month or two passed when I finally came up with an idea. I had the craziest idea, the thought of figuring out the cause of this snow and stop it. At first, everyone was skeptical. Until they came clean and admitted a loss to the cold. They then agreed and here we are, many months in the process. We call ourselves a name, too!" He said excitedly.

"Huh?" I asked.

He put a slight smile on his face.

"The Heat."


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"The Heat?" I ask

"Yep." He says, nodding his head. He then is getting up and stretches for a little. He looks back at me and says "Thanks for the chat!"

I nod, smiling. "It's good to see a friendly face in a world full of chaos."

He's about to walk out, but he stops. He says "Oh! Almost forgot!" and searches inside of a pouch hanging off of his waist. He pulls out an object, and hides it in his hooves. He then walks on two and holds his other two hooves behind his back and faces me.

"Close your eyes!" He says encouragingly.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Just close em!" He says, more giddy than before.

"Ok, ok!" I say. I close my eyes and hold out my hooves.

I can tell that Eagle Eyes is excited to give me this gift. I, on the other hand, am not so giddy. I mean, whenever I get gifts, they usually suck. Scratch that, they always suck. One year, my parents got me a scooter built for a three year old on my twelfth birthday. Another year, my friends got me a loaf of moldy bread for the holidays and said that it wad the equivalent to fruitcake cause they both taste like shit. Worst. Holidays. Ever. Oh, but that wasn't quite as bad as-

"Open your eyes!" Eagle Eyes says.

I open my eyes and look down at my hooves.

"Surprise!" He says.

I'm gonna faint.

The gift if a butterfly knife. A butterfly knife! Already awesome. But the thing that makes it 20% cooler is the fact that it's custom painted black with red splotches of what looks like blood, but it's also paint. The knife itself is balanced and stainless steel. And sharp, too!

"Th-Thanks so much! I-I-I don't know what to say. This is the best gift I've ever gotten!" I exclaim, not able to find the words.

"Ah it's nothin. Don't mention it!" He winks, pats me on the shoulder, and leaves the room, slowly shutting the door behind him.

Maybe friends aren't hard to come by.

I wake up this time, but without a start. I scratch my head as I get up. Oh yeah, I'm in the storage closet. I remember. Last night, I was using that knife nonstop to my hearts content! Swinging, attempting to learn to tricks but cutting myself at least four times in the process, stabbing fake targets, you name it! Eagle Eyes even gave me a knife holder to out on my waist!

I'm fiddling with my butterfly knife when the door swings open. Fluttershy is standing in the doorway, and she looks pissed.

I sit up and I'm ready to ask what's the matter when without reason she throws a Tomahawk at my skull. Luckily, I dodge in the nick of time, but just barely. I then look back at the tomahawk and then to Fluttershy.

"YOU!" She yells. "YOU SHIT EATING BASTARD!"

"Um..." I begin.

"YOU BLEW OUR LOCATION YOU IDIOT!" She exclaims. "NOW WE'VE GOT TROOPS FLANKING US FROM ALL SIDES OF OUR BASE!"

This is the side of Fluttershy I wish I haven't seen.

"What are you talking about?" I question. "When did I ever have communication with the outside world?"

She's about to answer when the whole room shakes. Concrete dust rains from the ceiling as the lights flicker.

"NO TIME!" She yells. "I'M NOT HERE TO SAVE YOU, BY THE WAY. IF THEY COME FOR YOU, NOT MY LOSS! I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THEY DON'T WANT ANY OF US, THEY WANT YOU!"

"Me?!" I exclaim, confused to the fullest extent.

"DON'T ASK ME WHY THEY WANT-"

BOOM!

The ceiling collapses, and a shroud of dust fills the air. I sputter and cough, but luckily, I wasn't buried completely. I dig the rest of myself out and look at my hooves. Scratched up and bleeding, great. No time I thought. I need to get out of here. I quickly look around for a source of escape, but the only exit, the door, has been sealed off with piles of concrete rubble.

Now what?

I look in my backpack and find the chemical components. If I put my 11th grade chemistry skills to work, I might be able to blow a hole in the wall and escape.

I look at the companies and read the ingredients as fast as I can. I need to find ingredients that will make a big boom.

Eventually, I give up and mix all the chemicals together in an empty Drano can. I light a match, and drop it in. I run away as fast as I can, but no matter. It made more than just an explosion, it made a show of lights and colors as the chemicals had made a Goliath hole in the wall.

That went better than expected.

I run to the hole and climb out. As I'm climbing out, I'm thinking to myself on what happened to Fluttershy? I shake those thoughts away and run through the hallway, knife in hand. I turn the corner and there they are. Standing on a puddle of rubble and blood.

The bosses minions.

"Ey, look who it is, Frankie!" One of the stallions mentions.

"Is that the guy who destroyed our business and killed our boss, Jerold?" The other one asks

"Indeed it is, Frankie!" He clarifies for some reason.

"And is he gonna get outta here alive, Jerold?" Frankie asks.

"He sure ain't!" Jerold says with a wicked laugh.

"I may die, but I won't die without a fight!" I yell back at them.

"Ah, we gotta tough guy here. Let's see who's so tough with my bullets in your skull!" Frankie intimidates.

I charge at the with my knife flipped out and ready for battle. I jump and come down for the strike. Frankie and Jerold dodge the attack and spin around me. I turn around just in time to see Jerold pull out a Sawed Off Shotgun and open fire on me. Most of the bullets miss, but some hit my flank and my back legs. I yelp and fall to the ground. I rub my flank, the fresh blood staining my hooves, and the pain, oh the searing pain running through my body.

"Have fun on the other side!" Jerold taunts, pointing the barrel of the gun at my face.

Bang!

Jerold drops.

Bang!

Frankie drops next.

I expect another shot to be at me, but nothing happens. I stay on the ground until a familiar face runs to me and covers me in bandage.

"Eagle Eyes!" I exclaim.

"Sh! Don't move! You'll make the blood flow in greater amounts if you do!" He says.

I don't feel offended that he shushed me, I'm just glad to be alive.

"There!" He says, cutting off the excess bandage.

"You saved my life!" I say in a thankful tone.

"Like I said before, don't mention it!" He helps me to me hooves and puts my front left hoof over his shoulders.

"For support." He says.

I feel a leather strap under my hoof. I look over my arm. A black rifle is slinged over his shoulders.

That's new.

We start dashing through the rubble and chaos when finally we arrive at a pile of corpses. Too many to count. I almost puke not only at the sight, but at the smell. We close out eyes and walk over the bodies, the disgusting feeling of pony flesh below me makes me shiver on every step.

All these dead ponies for me?

We prevail over the pile of bodies and climb out of a big hole which used to be an entrance, but it's been bombed, so it looks like a bigger version of the hole I made in the storage room. After struggling to climb out, we get taken off guard with the sudden change between the warmth underground and the cold up here. We shiver and dash along, squinting our eyes against the thick snow pounding down.

Cold. So very cold.

We find a patch of dry ground under a tree and lay down there. Eagle Eye pants rapidly while I rub the bandage on my flank. I catch my breath and ask the question:

"Why were we invaded?"

Eagle Eye looks at me and shrugs.

"Don't lie to me." I say deeply.

Eagle Eye sighs, and says:

"Your father, Sin Shadow, was a great man. Even I knew who he was before I met you. I'm not sure you understand his importance, do you?"

I shrug. "He never came home much. When he did, it was in brief segments. My mother used to call him an abandoner, so I never really knew anything about him."

"His job was one of the most important in Equestria." Eagle Eyes explains. "He was an inventor. But not just any inventor, he was the inventor of this."

He pulls out a cube and shows it to me. It has no unique traits about it as much as I can see. All it is...is-

"A small black box" Eagle Eyes finishes. "And you are correct. But not only is it a small black box..."

Eagle Eyes twists the lid of the box, and out of nowhere, the box begins to levitate. The sides of the cube slowly float off and reveal a glowing green matter.

"What is that?" I ask, eyes wide in awe.

Eagle Eyes stares me straight in the eyes, the mint green color of his eyes meeting mine strike me. He gestures for me to get closer. He then whispers:

"The solution to the cold!"


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"WHAT?!" I exclaim.

He nods, smiling.

"But...but I thought you guys were still looking for the solution to the cold!" I say, confused.

"We're still looking for how to USE it, Neon. We found this not too far back by a shady trader. They had this in their store, or cart, and we struck a deal. So now all we need to find is how to use the damn thing!" Eagle eye says, inspecting the matter.

"I've never seen anything like it before!" I say. "Of course, I've seen other ponies preform magic with their horns, but nothing like this! I'm an earth pony as you know, so I miss out in lots of other pony things!"

"And that's ok! As a Pegasus like me, I miss out on all the earth pony things! But the point is, son, that this material is called Panoramic Matter." He explains.

"Why panoramic?" I ask, cocking my head to the side while looking at the material.

"Because it has the ability to literally change the world. Say in our case right now. If used correctly, the Panoramic Matter can change this freezing apocalypse into a sunny paradise." He explains in deep detail.

"So it's basically like a weather spell, only it can effect all of Equestria permanently?" I ask.

"Exactly! With help of a couple of scientists on our team, we discovered some element in the matter we call Sintonite, a new mineral that we believe is the cause for its weather changing ability!" He explains excitedly.

Even though I don't look extremely happy on the outside, I'm nearly about to explode with happiness on the inside.

Suddenly, a question comes up:

"Is this why you guys were raided?"

Eagle eyes smiles drops.

"I believe so, Neon. Many have been trying to snatch it from us for their own cause. They plan to use it to force all of Equestria to work for them as their slaves. We plan to do differently. We plan to use it to put Equestria to peace, then find a rightful king or queen and give it to them to keep in a safe place from the public. We believe this is the right thing to do. But I do wonder why they were coming for you..." He looks off into the distance as if he's thinking deeply.

"Do you think it was a false?" I ask.

"Huh?"

"I mean, do you think they lied when they said I had it?" I ask.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure why. It could've been for revenge since you killed those two stallions boss, but that would be going quite far to send that many ponies to battle just for revenge."

"True." I say, now looking like Eagle Eyes, looking in the distance and pondering.

"I'm not sure. It's a mystery we may never figure out! But for now-" He begins, but is interrupted by a ring from a phone.

"Excuse me for one sec." He apologizes.

He struggles to climb under the low, sturdy branches of the pine tree and finally climbs out. I crane my neck to hear what's he's saying, but all I can make out are "...Yep...New location?...You will?! No way!... Alright! Bye!"

Who was he talking to?

He climbs in and quickly says sorry. He pulls his things together frantically as if he had ten second to find a bomb and defuse it inside his pile of stuff. He looks at me, excitement in his eyes.

"What? Why are you packing up?" I ask.

He smiles. "It looks like a job opportunity just opened up!"

"What do you mean?" I question.

"I mean that you get the opportunity to join The Heat!" He says, giddiness gleaming in his eyes.

My heart is pumping at the speed of the snow falling to the ground. A chance to join a group of vigilantes seeking to stop the snow, what's cooler than that. I'm about to say yes when I think about the fellow crew members. I was the one to blame about their bases destruction. The enemies might send more troops out to kill me. If I put the whole team in danger, I would never forgive myself. And what about Fluttershy? She would kill me before any of the other crew member got to me if I joined.

"I know that look." Eagle Eyes says sympathetically. "That's the look of a worried stallion. Look, it's ok to feel that way, Neon, but the truth is that the team members know it wasn't your fault. It was all of ours combined. And don't worry about Fluttershy. She's a tough nut to crack, but lemme tell ya this, the way she looks at you makes me think she likes you." He gives me a wink and I blush. Fluttershy, liking me? Ha, not in a million years!

"So, what do you say?" Eagle Eyes asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I shouldn't. It's suicide if I say yes. No, I can't be a part of this team.

"Uh...I...I feel a bit light headed." I lie. "I think it's the heat."

"But it's 0 degrees-"

"I need some fresh air" I blurt out quickly.

"Whatever you need, lad. I'll wait here for you to make the decision." He says.

"Thank you!" I say, try to scramble outside as soon as I can.

When I do make it outside, I'm greeted by a gust of frosty air. The moisture in the air does feel a bit better than that dusty cover under the tree. I stick my hoof in the snow, pick up a chunk, and eat it. It's been a while since I've drank, or in this case ate, water. The water trickling down my neck feels terrific. I pick up some more snow and eat that as well. Then I get to thinking.

Should I join this clan?

Or should I forever stay a loner?

Questions to ponder...

I climb back under the tree to find Dead Eagle fast asleep, using his backpack as a pillow, and his rifle as a teddy bear. I slowly approach him and tap him on the shoulder. He blinks, and opens his eyes. He stares at me and yawns widely. Then, he gets up and says:

"Needed my beauty sleep. After all, these good looks don't just happen!"

I roll my eyes as he loads his rifle clip back near the trigger. He then pumps it, and inspects it to see if it's working. Now, he's looking at me.

"So? What do you say?" He asks.

I don't know what to answer with. All I do is stare back into his eyes.

He sighs and then mumbles:

"I WAS going to keep this a surprise if you said yes, but since you still can't make up your mind...Ah what's the use? If you do say yes, you'll be working as the teams knives expert and trained assassin. You'll learn how to disable enemies without using weapons, how to do parkour to escape and get to unknown places, and you'll get to use all the materials needed to make already invented knives and make up your own!" He explains.

My mind then clicks.

I want this opportunity more than anything in the world.

Yes, yes, YES!

"I'll do it!" I say.

"Excellent!" Dead Eagle exclaims. He then shakes my hoof and says:

"Welcome to the team, Neon!"

"Proud to be part of it!" I reply.

He smiles and pulls out a badge from his backpack. He hands it to me. It's a bronze badge embroidered with Russian olive tree branches. In the middle, it reads:

RECRUIT LEVEL KNIVES EXPERT AND ASSASSIN.

Sweet.

I give Eagle Eyes a thank you, and I stick it on my hoodie. It feels a bit heavy, but not that much.

"You don't have to wear it to show your membership, son." He says, eyeing the badge.

"But where else would I put it?" I ask.

"I would recommend just putting it in your bag. Last time I wore my badge, the bloody thing fell off and got lost in the snow. I got a new one, of course, but the fellow members still laugh at me to this very day."

"Ouch!" I say to him. "Ok, I'll put it away."

I take off the badge and stick it in my bag. I then look at him and ask:

"Where's the new hideout?"

He simply replied with "Follow me."

So I do, I follow him out of the tree and through the fat, fluffy snow. The snow is coming down calmer than before, but the snowflakes are the size of Bits. It's a little easier to find our way through the frozen wastelands, but we manage, and after little time, we arrive at the new base.

This base is much less hidden than last time. It's in a patch of trees, pine trees to be exact. The other crew members set up small wooden dens out of wood, branches, leaves, and anything else they could find. All the dens are circling one medium sized wooden shack. The shack looks beaten down by the harsh weather, yet it still stays up. I look around to see more dens, but they're bigger than the sleeping ones. They must be labs and workspaces.

"Home sweet home!" Eagle Eyes announces.

Home sweet home...


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A week has passed since I was accepted into the lukewarm hooves of The Heat. I've met some of the crew, thanks to Eagle, and I was surprised at how interesting each and every pony is! I met the medic of the crew named Dove. She has a white pelt with candy cane colored mane and tail. She has blue eyes and has a cutie mark, of course, of a red cross. Her medical research lab, or mini hospital as I like to call it, is packed to the brim with various metal tables covered in various needles, gloves, drills, and other scary things. On the walls, there are shelves with bottles full of green glowing chemicals that act like mini lava lamps. Two days ago, I asked her what they are and what they're used for, but she just said something like:

"None of your business!"

There were a couple of other ponies I met as well, but I feel too tired from today's assassin training to think of them in my mind. Thinking of which, I feel miserable due to me not even being able to do simple parkour moves. I face-planted on the Kong Lunge, sprained my ankle on the Tic-Tac, and even got cut on my hooves during the Cat Hang!

Maybe I'm not fit to be an assassin.

Who knows?

I peek my head out of my den. Darkness. Had I not been able to sleep for this long?

I look down at my watch. It reads:

12:48 P.M.

Well, maybe if I take a walk, that'll tire me down.

I stride out of the den quietly, making sure to not step on discarded twigs and make them snap, causing the other teammates to wake up. Yet it's hard to be cautious in the dark, so I pull out my little pocket flashlight and shine the dim light on the floor in front of me. It barely provides any clarity, but it's just enough for me not to wake up a living soul. I walk and walk around the camp until I come to the entrance. It's a gate made out of sticks found from the trees around arched in an arc to form the doorway. Alongside that, there are two thick stone benches on each side of the gate for anyone coming back from a tired journey. It's amazing that The Heat recovered speedily from such a loss!

I walk over to one of the benches and sit. The cold stone makes me shiver. I put my hooves on both my sides and take a good look around the camp. All the same, except I see something strange in the camp. Nothing too unusual, but something worth checking out. I stand up and walk over to the far back of the camp. In this clearing, the whole camp is shaped like an oval. The center is the shelter and storage section. The front of the camp is used for workshops, and training. And the back, well, isn't really used at all. No one goes back there, so it's technically a useless pact of dirt and snow due to the trees not covering that one place of the camp. But this is the first time I've seen this In the camp.

A small opening.

Big enough for me to crawl through.

I look behind me to make sure I'm not being watched or followed. I then look back at the hole and lie on my stomach. Once again, the familiar feeling of the cold returns to my body as I lay in a patch of wet dirt, mud to be exact. I ignore the filthiness of my body as I inch my way into the clearing. Needles prick my back and face as I keep inching forward. I shut my eyes and keep going until I'm not getting poked anymore. I open my eyes and let my jaw fall ajar.

The sounds of rushing water fills my ears.

The light of paper lanterns fluttering in the calm winds smother my eyes.

Bliss.

The clearing is much bigger than expected. It has enough room to fit a medium sized water fall, a small pool of freshwater, and a bridge with paper lanterns streaming off the sides. The dim light and the calm waterfall mix perfectly together as I amble across the bridge. I let a smile creep across my face.

How have I not known about this?

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice says.

I spin around and stare at the figure, smiling and looking as serene as me.

Fluttershy.

"Y-yes." I say.

"You know, we knew about this place way before our last base was destroyed." She says, staring into the clear water.

"Really?" I ask, looking at her.

She nods.

"That explains it." I say, looking at a specific paper lantern.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"I mean that it would be near impossible to not only find this place in such a short amount of time, but to also decorate and hand craft these paper lanterns, then build a bridge and put them up." I explain.

"Pfft. How long did it take you to figure that out?" She asks tauntingly.

"Like a minute or two." I say, hoping that it threw off her taunt.

"You're such a nerd!" She jokes. "How did you figure it out so fast? Doing math at the speed of light?"

"How come you talk the way you do?" I asked back.

Fluttershy's smile dropped.

I said something wrong.

Dammit!

"Do you really want to know?" She asks.

Well, I can't back out now.

"Yeah." I say stupidly.

She sighs and looks me straight in the eyes. Her wings tucked to her sides, he eyes gleaming into mine. She then speaks:

"When The Heat was first created, we had more members than this. Our team was strong and had undying courage to do what's right. One example of that...was Rainbow Dash." She says seriously.

"Rainbow Dash was the Co-Leader of The Heat when it was still in creation. She was like a sister to all of us: kind, generous, always lending a hand, and strong. Oh was she strong, probably one of the strongest ponies to ever step foot on Equestria's soil! This group is still in function because of her! Moving on, she became different each day when we came closer to uncovering the solution to the frost. She became so changed that she even refused to leave her rooms for days at a time! Then, the day came. We were attacked. This battle left a permanent scar on our team, for we lost too many in this massacre. The attackers came in huge groups, yet the main group is called Bullet Squad, ruthless killers seeking the bloodshed of every pony in existence."

"We barely managed to escape their grasp, but alas, not all of us were so lucky." She says, looking down at the ground.

"Many of our best fighters and friends were killed. Snow Fox, Moonrise, Whip Claw-" She names, the look of regret on her face.

"And...and...AND RAINBOW DASH!" She says, tears now streaming down her face.

She's now bent over the edge of the bridge, hooves on her face, crying.

I try to comfort her by putting my hoof in her shoulder, but before I can, she stops me and exclaims:

"I'M NOT DONE!"

I stand back and watch as she wipes the tears off of her face. She then sniffles, and continues back again.

"I was the first one to discover the death of Rainbow Dash. I found her corpse with multiple stab wounds, one bullet wound in her front left hoof, and burn marks all over her. She was a trooper. She had lived through all the pain to fight for us. Stab wounds, burns, and a bullet couldn't stop her. And she was smiling. Her smile showed us that she wasn't afraid to die. And for that, I vowed to make sure she didn't die for nothing, and that I would forever be just like her. So that's when I built this. I made it in memory of Rainbow Dash, will her spirit still living inside all of us..." She says, staring at her reflection in the water.

She now has a mixture of sadness and anger in her eyes. Her breath is slow and quiet. Shes slumped in a dreamy like fashion over the railing of the bridge once more. I approach her side and do the same.

She looks at me.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you when I first met you." She apologizes.

I feel surprised. She's actually sorry?

"It's ok. I wouldn't blame you. I'm not a good teammate. I was the cause of your last base being destroyed." I reply.

"You know that wasn't because of you. That was all of our fault. And I wasn't mad at you for apparently being a bad teammate." She explains.

"Then how come you were pissed?" I question.

"Because...I was scared of getting another pony killed. We don't accept any more team members, we can't risk the deaths of too many. With you joining with no background of survival or self protection, I thought you were bound to die. But I've been wrong before." She smiles at me.

I blush like an idiot.

I think she noticed.

"Well...aren't you going to punish me for finding out about this shrine?" I ask.

"What? How cruel do you think I am?" She asks, seeming confused.

"Good point. I think I'll just head back to my bed now, but thanks for the chat!" I thank.

"It's good to relieve some stress, you know?" She says.

"Yeah..." I reply, taking one last look around me.

I take a deep breath of the fresh, moist air around me, and I climb back to my bed, ignoring the

spines poking into me, for a nights sleep.

I feel the presence of someone watching me. I wake up, eyes squinted, as I sit up to see if anyone's there. Not to my surprise, Eagle Eyes is at the entrance, an excited gleam shining in his eyes.

"Morning, sunshine!" He says enthusiastically.

I yawn and ask:

"What?"

"Looks like the rest of the crew wants you to start your knife forging lesions today!" He explains. "But not only that, you'll get to be working with some materials and tools no other pony here has ever used! Well, except for the instructor himself, but you get the point! Training starts at 9:15 A.M. Sharp. Don't be late" He says, a huge grin upon his face, walking away slowly.

By now my eyes are the size of Ponyville and my mouth is wide as ever. I look to the side of the bed to where my watch is. It reads:

8:15 A.M.

No harm in being an hour early!

I rush to brush my teeth, shower, get dressed (black sweat pants, a black hoodie, and a black beanie. Black is the color everyone must wear for whatever reason.) and eat my breakfast. It barely takes me five minutes to get all these things done as I zoom past Eagle Eyes, still heading across the clearing to his job, gunsmith. I rush to the door of the knife forge, take a deep breath.

And knock.


	10. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

No one answers.

I knock again and wait.

Nothing.

I would expect this. After all, he or she must be sleeping in, for I'm at least 45 minutes early. But suddenly, interrupting my thoughts, the door swings open and reveals the figure of a bearded pony. He has a blacksmith smock, forging glasses, a tinkerers belt, and a brown pelt to top it all off.

"Whaddya want?!" He exclaims.

"I...I'm here for the knife forging." I say dumbly.

He pulls the goggles off of his eyes, and he smiles.

"Ah, well why didn't ya say so, lad? Come on in!" He says, gesturing for me to walk through the door.

So I do, I walk through and end up in one small wooden room with a forge, a row of three anvils, a bucket of water, various steel tools, and a door with a wooden sign reading:

MATERIALS AND EXCESS TOOLS.

I hear the door close behind me and I see the instructor run around me and set a pile of tools on one anvil. He then sets the forge ablaze and gets some assorted metals from the Materials storage. The instructor looks at me, and simply says:

"Come on! Don't be shy!"

I slowly approach him as he follows me with his forest green eyes. I get close to him, and he pats me on the back.

"There, now that wasn't so hard, now was it?" He jokes.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced." I say, trying to change the subject.

"So polite, you are! Let's start by you introducing yourself!" He says.

So I explain who I am and how I got here. He nods and listens to every detail. When I'm finished, he simply replies with:

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Steely, and I'm glad to be your instructor! Now, let's start with the basics of shaping the metal..."

He instructs me on things I never knew about forging ever before! He tells me about different metals you can combine to make the most durable, sharp, or aerodynamic knives. How to make custom handles, blades, and camos. He's even teaching me how to get the inspiration to make my own types of knives. And this is only my first day!

After what feels like five minutes but is actually six hours, we decide to combine our ideas to make a custom, exotic knife for everyone to enjoy. I feel surprised that on my first day, I'm given such an honor. But I don't complain. I say to him, however, that I don't think I have the proper training, but he simply replies with:

"You know enough, now let's begin, shall we?"

After only 10 minutes of coming up with an idea and getting the materials needed, we get interrupted by the noise of yelling. We look a each other with the same confused look on our faces, and rush outside to see what was with the ruckus.

It appears that someone was not dying or whatnot, but they're giving out a warning about someone arriving soon at this base. They seem worried, due to the look on their face; Likewise, a huge crowd is forming around this pony, seeming equally as surprised

Huh, must be important if most of the camp is making a big deal out of it.

I decide to ask Steely what this all about, but he just shrugs in reply and continues to space off in the distance.

After a few minutes of gossip pass by, multiple footsteps come from outside the entrance. Everyone turns to see who it is, and everyone gets the same surprised reaction.

Perfect Pony.

What the hell is he doing here?

He walks through the entrance with the same cocky look on his face, wearing a huge fake smile and a warm looking winter coat lined with fur. He's now wearing ski goggles, probably stolen, and a holster with a .55 revolver inside, most likely also stolen. His appearance seems to make the other ponies look nervous, no surprise why.

I see Eagle Eyes at the front of the crowd, and I decide to go and ask him why he's here. I push past awestruck figures as I finally make it to Eagle Eyes. He doesn't have the same look as the others, instead, he has the look of anger.

I tap him on the shoulder, but he barely even flinches. I continue to shake him until he turns around.

"What?!" He hisses. He then notices it's me.

"Oh, thank Celestia it's you!" He says, looking a bit more calm than before."I thought you were someone else."

"Who is this pony?" I ask, trying to cut to the chase.

"You mean that douchebag? Yeah, he's...well...he's our leader." He whispers, scratching the back of his neck.

"WHAT?!" I exclaim, still whispering.

"Yeah, he's kinda a jerk." He whispers.

"I...I thought Fluttershy was our leader!" I exclaim.

"She's our pack leader. We're divided into two groups. Ours, the Research and Production Squad, and theirs, the Warmongers and Protection Squad. He's the leader of both groups, but not too long ago, the warmongers pack leader went missing, so he's now in charge. Poor souls that have to put up with him..." He explains.

"Why have I never known about this?" I ask, partially angry on why no one bothered to explain this to me.

Eagle Eyes just shrugs.

I point to the perfect pony.

"He was the one who stole my house and left me for dead!" I explain to Eagle Eyes.

He nods. "Seems like a thing he would do."

We both fall silent as the others do the same. I now look at the Perfect Pony. He's in the middle of the camp in a clearing. The group I'm in is surrounding him in a audience like manner. The only people that are behind him are his two body guards, one of which was the same one that hit me with a baseball bat. Anger rose inside of me as I thought more about these terrible pony. I fought he urge to punch him square in his stupid face, but it's hard when he's looking so defenseless and cruel.

He looks around and starts to speak.

"Hello members of the Research and Production squad! Long time no see! You know, it took me a while to find this...what's the word? Pitiful? Yes, pitiful, new base of yours!"

We remain silent, some drop their heads in regret, others just keep staring.

"Now, skipping to the point, I came here today to request something of you all!" He says, still smiling.

When no one still replied, he kept on speaking.

"I know it's been a hard couple of months, but believe me when I say this! We will end this cold and put Equestria to its peaceful state! This will happen, but only until you agree to give me the matter." He says, now staring at Eagle Eyes.

Everyone remains silent, except now everyone is staring at Eagle Eyes. Eagle Eyes pulls the cube out of his pouch and allows it to float and open up hooves shaking.

"Good, good! Now...hand it over!" He says.

Eagle Eyes doesn't move a muscle at first, but then he takes a couple of steps closer.

"Closer...Closer..." Perfect Pony encourages with a wicked smile on his face.

By now Eagle Eyes is inching not too far away from Perfect Pony.

"Almost there..." Perfect Pony says.

Eagle Eyes is about to get into reaching distance with Perfect Pony when suddenly an objection brakes out from the crowd.

"NO!" Someone yells.

A pony with a maroon pelt and a long, brown mane walks out and stands on firm ground.

Pinstripe.

Pinstripe is the sewer and makes the clothing for the team. Her works are not bad, in fact, the clothing I'm wearing right now was made by Pinstripe. I don't talk to her much, nor does she talk to me, but whenever I do, she seems kind enough to be a friend of anyone.

She walks up to Eagle Eyes and pushes him back. He takes the initiative and scrambles back with the others. She's now face to face with Perfect Pony.

"We refuse to break the original plan on how to achieve our goal!" She says strictly.

"Aw, how cute! A big mouth! What's your name?" He says in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm Pinstripe, and I do believe your name is Dennis?" She asks.

"Ah, so you're not as stupid as I thought you were! So, what was it you were saying again?" He asked, trying to make her look stupid.

"I said that you don't have the right of owning the matter." She says, staying surprisingly calm.

"And who are you to disagree?" He asks. "I own this group; therefore, I get rights to whatever I want, whenever I want, got that cupcakes?"

By now her face is burning red.

"You shove that silly smile down your throat before I make you!" She yelled, shocking the crowd. "I don't care how long you want it, you're not getting it! And that's final!"

Even though Pinstripes face looks mad, and the crowd looks shocked, Perfect Pony, or Dennis, is still looking happy as ever.

"Very well, miss, I'm afraid we can't cope with this kind of behavior on our team!" He then says making Pinstripes expression change from mad, to frightened.

Pinstripe backs away slowly, sweat begging to drip down her face.

"Wha-what do you mean?" She asks nervously.

Dennis pulls the revolver from his holster.

I break free from the crowd.

"Oh, I think you know what I mean!" Dennis exclaims.

Dennis pulls back the hammer.

I run and jump in front of Pinstripe.

This event happened so fast that I almost missed it. The bullet flew from the barrel at lightning speed, flying towards its new target, me. I had made the brave, and mostly stupid, move to jump in the line of fire and block the bullet. I did what I felt was right, and I succeeded, for the bullet has penetrated my skin and broke my shoulder when the bullet cracked the shoulder blade. Blood gushed from the wound as I fell to the ground. I barely felt the pain on the impact when I hit the ground. I heard screams around me, as the world went dark.

As I fell asleep.

I wake up with a searing pain in not only my head, but on my shoulder too. I fight the urge to cry out in pain as I felt a burning sensation fill me on my right shoulder. I frantically try to look around, but it's so dark in the room, I can't make out a thing. My shoulder soothes eventually, and I fall back to sleep

I wake up again, but this time, something feels different.

I look to my right hoof and nearly scream.

It's replaced with a robotic hoof.

I stare at the metal hoof, now being able to see, and I panic. It was just a bullet wound, so why was my hoof replaced? I think more about the situation. I attempt to remember what happened after I was shot, but come up with nothing. I lay my head back down and groan. I look on the ceiling and see it's made out of twigs. That means I'm still back home. I lift my head back up and observe my surroundings. Jars of liquid, metal tables, yep, I'm in Doves hospital. I relax my muscles knowing that I'm in good hands, yet I can't shake off the fact that I know have a robotic hoof.

I lay back down and take a few deep breaths.

Eventually, a figure walks into the room.

Pinstripe.

She comes to the side of my bed and sits on a makeshift wooden chair.

"Hey. I see you're awake." She says calmly and quietly.

"Yeah." I reply weakly.

"I came here to check on you. You feeling ok?" She asks.

I look at my robotic hoof and back at her.

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine. It's just weird to have a robotic hoof is all." I say, partially understating how strange it is to have your hoof removed

"I understand. I also came here to thank you. Without you, I wouldn't be alive right now!" She says, smiling.

"Hey, it's the least I can do for a brave pony like you. Even I would be scared to stand up to Dennis like that. Speaking of, where is that jerk?" I ask, now getting angry thinking of him.

"Oh, he left without the matter. After you took the bullet for me, ponies started to outrage. He attempted to calm them down, but no one did. Eventually, he gave up and told everyone that we could keep the matter for now. But he promised to be back..." She explains, now looking into the distance of tables and jars.

"Good. I'm glad he's not here anymore. If he was, I would take that own revolver of his, and shoot him right in his ugly smile!" I promise.

"Same." She agrees.

We sit here silently until I decide to speak up.

"I took the bullet for you because you needed to live." I admit.

"Huh?" She asks.

"I mean, in the end, I know I'm not going to live. Only the strongest and the most important will. And me...well...I'm neither. So I took the bullet for you. You can't be replaced. But they can find another knife smith in seconds!"

She's about to reply, but I shush her right there and then.

"Look, you don't have to be sorry or even thank me. He shouldn't have even shot the gun in the first place. It's ok that I got shot, but I would never live with myself if I just sat and watched you die." I say, slowly trailing off.

She smiles and gets up.

"Well, that's why we have you on the team, am I correct?" She asks, knowing the answer.

"I guess so." I say casually.

She bends over and kisses my forehead. I blush like a maniac as she walks out the door. I mean, I've never been kissed by a girl, other than my mom and my girlfriend a couple of times, but other than that...

I shake the thoughts away and lay back down on the uncomfortable wooden hospital bed. I close my eyes and let the dim rooms calmness overwhelm me

But, sadly, that doesn't happen. My mind is too crowded with thoughts.

What will happen to us if Dennis comes back?

What if no ones there to take the shot?

What if...

What if I Do make it out alive?


	11. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

My back aches as I shovel more coal into the forge. My one real hoof is smothered in coal powder, and my mechanical one has a fine layer of dust settled on the top.

It's been two weeks since the incident. After I was fully healed, I was thanked by many for my sacrifice. Some even gave me gifts for what I did! I then settled in and learned how to use my new hoof. It works like a regular arm because it's manufactured to work with my nerves to signal when I want to move my arm, where I want to move it. It's quite strange sometimes, because it's technology, so it malfunctions all the time. Like yesterday, it spun around frantically and nearly smashed the walls of my home. Another day it shot out sparks like a shotgun at random spurts of time, in which it scorched a pine tree and nearly made it topple over.

Yet lately, it's been good to me. It hasn't malfunctioned, it responds immediately, it even picks up things before I can tell it to! I'm not sure why it's being nice to me, but I'm not complaining.

After I shoveled enough coal, I set it ablaze with the power of gasoline and a match. I watched the flames flicker up into the metal roof of the forge. After I'm done making sure it's ready, I walk to the raw iron and put it on a metal tray. I put all different kinds of gems on the tray, as well as some supporting minerals for the blade. I then carry the tray to the forge and slide it inside. I shut the door and walk out the door of the forge.

It takes some time to cook up metals, so I decide to find Eagle a Eyes and see what he's up to. I walk out into the cold air and breathe out vapors of cold air. I rub my sleeved arms as I walk over to the gun factory. I arrive at the door and ring the bell. I hear footsteps coming, and to my surprise, Fluttershy answers the door.

"Who is it?" She yells through the wooden door.

"Take a wild guess." I say in a joking voice.

The door opens and reveals the happy looking face of Fluttershy.

"Neon! Glad to see you! Come on in!" She says, smiling.

I walk through the door and observe the room. It's a medium sized room with a shelf of various weapon parts and a conveyor belt with lots of mechanics and worker ponies. Close to the entrance, there are tables with cutting knives, spray paint and such labeled:

DETAILING STATION

The ponies are at full production speed, handcrafting scopes, carving stocks, smelting metal in the form of barrels, it seems like an efficient assembly line.

"So, what brings you here?" She asks.

"I have some metal back at the knife forge cooking up. It takes a while, so I thought I would visit here for the first time to kill some time!" I explain, happy with my choice of coming here.

"Well, I guessed that from all that coal on your face!" She jokes.

"Yeah. Life of a Smelter!" I announce.

She lets out a snort and rolls her eyes in sarcastic disbelief.

"Fancy seeing you here." I say, still wondering why she's here.

"Well, I'm not really here often, as you know, but today is different. We have something planned that might help us put our research and training to use!"

"What? What's going to do that?" I ask excitedly.

"Here, let me show you." She says mischievously.

I follow her to the back of the room and find two workers and Eagle Eyes gathered around a blueprint. Fluttershy pulls up two stools and I sit in one. I observe the blueprint to find a sniper rifle with multiple cables, a battery box, and other things I cant make out.

"I dunno if it's gonna work, Flutter." Eagle Eyes says nervously.

"Yeah, to get this much power would take ages." Says one of the workers.

"And to find the materials that could withstand such power..." The other worker says.

"I know, I know! I get that this plan seems near impossible, but I have a plan! Now, I have with me here Neon, our teams assassin and knife smith. Lately, his parkour and stealth instructor has been commenting in his overall performance." She nudges my shoulder, the robotic one.

It's true. For whatever reason, ever since my robotic hoof, I've been able to do stunts I never was able to before. I've nearly mastered all the important basics, so I'm not arguing.

"Anyways, there's one place where all these materials can be found. But it's not gonna be easy to get them. The plan leave no room for mistakes. Any mistake could get us all killed."

I shiver, thinking about what would happen if I was the cause of so many deaths.

"But we're trained enough to get it right. The plan involves sneaking in and stealing the materials from, surprise-surprise, Ponyville."

Ponyville. That word rung in my head as I think of the terrible things that had happened there.

"There's a hacker group, S1ic3 n D1c3, who have somehow found the destinations of the materials original owner and stole them from it. Their home destination has been undiscovered for a while, that is, until three days ago. With our scientists basic knowledge of hacking, we've uncovered their location in a small restaurant in Ponyville. A perfect hiding place."

"So this is where you come in, Neon. We'll provide you with any knife of your choice and a silenced sniper. We will also provide an invention of ours, Cloak-N-Kill 1.2 BETA, for you to escape any sticky situation. Your job is to sneak in unnoticed, hack into a PC with the dats needed for tracking the materials, and steal the loot. We'll have snipers outside for backup if needed. You'll have a radio on an earpiece in which you can communicate through a local network to us if needed. You think you're up for this?"

My mind hurts from all this info being processed all at once. I think for a little, then without thinking:

"Yes, more than anything, I do."

"Good. Everyone, get to work on a silenced sniper that'll last Neon!" She barks.

Everyone scrambles to their work stations, finding the right things to make into a sniper.

I look at Fluttershy and she gives me a you'll do fine look.

Hopefully, I will do just fine.

It's time.

It had just been a day since I was told the plan, now here I am, shining gut knife in hand, rifle slung over my shoulder. I feel proud and powerful with this new equipment, and I know it looks as good as it feels to have. I couldn't sleep thinking about this mission, and now, here I am, marching on the road towards Ponyville, not knowing what will happen.

I think I might have a heart attack.

Alongside me are my backup snipers: Mesh Flesh, Candle, and of course, Eagle Eyes. Most of which I haven't met or even knew existed, but once I met them, I couldn't imagine why I haven't met such ponies as them. I feel protected with them on my side. Marching by them makes me feel confident in this plan, more confident than I've ever been.

Let's do this.

We eventually arrive at a bridge crossing a frozen river. We scan the area for any traps laid out by thieves and marauders. So far, it's looks safe. No snare traps or pendulums of immense pain.

Nothing.

We decide to check once more just in case. Candle pulls out a flare from her backpack and strikes it on the ground. She then rolls it across the bridge. Surprisingly, the bridge doesn't catch fire from the heat of the flare. But not to our surprise, we hear the snap of a string, and the bridge fully collapses on itself. Dust flies in the air in a fury as the planks of what used to be a bridge flow downstream, breaking the ice over the river, moving in a clump.

"What now?" I ask.

Mesh Flesh and Candle are both looking around and thinking, but Eagle Eyes looks like he knows what to do

"Here, let me scout out the other side." He says, taking the lead as he should.

He doesn't wait for agrees from the team, instead, he just rises up in the air and dashes forward.

We wait for a signal, but nothing comes. Minutes pass as we start to become impatient and worried. The sun is barely showing on the horizon now, and as it's figure becomes to fade, our nervousness grows. We wait for about possibly an hour, and nothing comes.

Mesh Flesh suddenly becomes too impatient.

"We can't wait any longer, guys, let me try something."

Without warning, his horn begins to glow. A nearby tree begins to dig itself out of of the ground, and levitate. Sweat trickles down Mesh Flesh's face as he brings it to the side of the river. He then tilts it in air, and drops it. It comes down with a crash, but stays intact. It forms a slender bridge across the river, much to our mixed emotions.

"Makeshift bridge." Mesh Flesh says proudly.

Me and Candle both thank him briefly, and we cross the river cautiously. The sound of the previously frozen river now flowing makes me much more cautious on the bridge, for I don't want to flow downstream and freeze my ass off.

We arrive at the other side and find ourselves at the head of a shoveled out trail, much similar to the one I had taken to arrive at the base. We walk down it, cautious of our surroundings. After our hooves are cold and our awareness is at the fullest, we see the sight of a building.

"We've arrived!" Candle exclaims.

We approach the entrance to Ponyville, partially scared, partially curious. We find ourselves marching through deep, un-shoveled snow. We walk in various different directions, confused on where to go next. Without Eagle Eyes and his map, we have no idea where to go. Thinking of Eagle Eyes makes me worried. I get that our main priority is to find the materials, and that's why we were sent here in the first place, but shouldn't we try to look for Eagle Eyes first?

"Hey guys, shouldn't we look for Eagle Eyes?" I ask.

They both stop.

"Here, let me contact his radio..." Candle replies, switching on her earpiece.

I feel relieved that we can at least try to contact Eagle Eyes via radio. Maybe he can-

"Eagle Eyes, you there?" Candle asks, pressing her earpiece against her, well, ear.

No answer comes through.

"Eagle, we need answer!" Candle demands.

Still nothing.

"Don't mess with us! We know you're there-"

"Your little Eagle is with us know." A strange voice replies with.

No one speaks.

"Who is this?" Candle asks nervously.

"I think you know who it is." They say deeply and darkly.

The line beeps, and then no voice comes through.

"Shit!" Candle swears to herself.

We frantically look a tach other for answers on what to do, but we come up with nothing.

I finally speak up.

"They know we're coming." I say darkly.

They both look at me.

"Someone told them before we had arrived." I explain. "And it sure wasn't Eagle Eyes."

Candle and Mesh Flesh both exchange confused glances at each other.

"But...who could it have been?" Mesh Flesh asks.

I shrug and try to think up an answer, but nothing comes to mind.

"I'm going to call in reinforcements. There's not way were-"

"Wait!" I interrupt.

Mesh Flesh goes silent.

"We're going to carry out the original plan. Get in, steal the materials, get out. But, in order to get Eagle Eyes out, I have an idea."

Mesh Flesh and Candle look curious to know of this plan.

"What's the plan, Neon?" They both say in sync.

I bend over and whisper the plan, observing the looks of approval and agreement on their faces. Once I'm done with the last sentence, they nod and march alongside me to the restaurant as if nothing had happened at all.

We finally arrive at the destination we think is the place. This restaurant has dead vine covered stone tables outside with frost bitten ripped umbrellas. The sign that used to have beautiful, hand written words now reads:

GO AWAY

Written in red paint on a big cardboard slab. Glass sprinkles the snowy ground like snowflakes as the windows are broken and boarded up. The structure itself looks like it's sagging of age and uncleanliness.

"Well, this fits the description." Candle remarks.

I nod and slowly walk to the mahogany door. I look back. Mesh Flesh and Candle have already disappeared, probably finding a good sniper post. Speaking of which, I pull out my silenced sniper. I'm still confused on why I'm using a sniper indoors, but I push those thoughts aside because I might not have to use it in the first place. I look at my robotic hoof and switch the Cloak-n-Kill v1.0 BETA to ON. After a few seconds, I look down at my hooves to see that they're not there. I smile and push open the door without effort. Once I enter the building, I observe the main dining room.

Smashed tables and furniture, filthy flooring, old newspapers and trash scattered about, disgusting. I ignore the scenery and look for a secret room where a PC might be. I lunge over the main counter, hardly making It due to how hard it is to see my own hooves, and roll throu the doorway to the kitchen. In the kitchen, it's the same story. Busted pots and pans littering the place, broken kitchenware, the same story. It's quite sad to see all this rubble left behind by the last ponies who worked here. I walk through and hear a crunching sound beneath my hooves. I look down, and nearly scream.

A pony skeleton lay under me.

I scramble away from it and stare, It's lifeless figure looking scared and unhappy. The crushed bone had been a rib, and I felt bad not only for myself, but mostly for the pony who had died. I give my respect to the lives lost for a brief moment, a skill I learned to do during training for respecting the dead, and I got up. I walked around it this time, as I started to walk more cautiously in this building of horrors. I then find a hatch in the back of the restaurant. I open it and a ladder folds out. I cautiously climb down it and flick on the light switch at the bottom of the ladder. This room is different from the rest, it's a single concrete room with storage compartments full of canned food and water bottles. I walk around the room, looking for a PC, and find nothing close to one. I then look at the back of the room and find a single table with a fury of papers scattered all over, and a dusty, old Dell PC. I rush to it and swipe away the papers. I then turn on the PC and wait impatiently for it to turn on. After five minutes of waiting, or what felt like an eternity, the PC finally beams to life. It comes up with a single user, 0. Suspicious name I think to myself. I click on it and strangely enough, it doesn't ask for a password. I then search the computer for any documents that could help me find the materials. I come up with nothing at first, but then after looking in a folder labeled:

KEEP

I find a document called:

MISSION REPORTS

I scroll through the doc until I find the right report.

It reads:

Name: Unknown

Date: Unknown

Time: 4:47 P.M.

Action: Snatching valuable materials from rival.

Why: To sell to someone who wants to pay a high price.

Where it's stored: Vault 2F, lower floor.

End.

I whistle at how resourceful this document was. I smile and remember the vault number 2F. I then switch off the computer and look for where the vault could possibly be. I search for any hidden doors, but without any luck, I find none. I the try pulling items off of the shelves, but that doesn't work either.

My radio then flicks on.

"Neon, you there? C'mon!" Mesh Flesh asks.

I push on my ear piece.

"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" I ask casually.

"You need to get out of there, right now! Got that?!" He asks, seeming nervous.

"Uh...why?" I ask, confused.

"Just, go! You need it leave!"

"But why? It's going perfectly and now I have to leave?"

Mesh Flesh sighs on the other end.

"It's a trap, ok? We've been set up! You were right when you said someone that wasn't Eagle Eyes told you the plan, ok?! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE!" He repeats, this time yelling.

"Ok, ok! Calm yourself! I'll begin to head on out-"

A frag grenade whizzes by my head as I'm halfway in my sentence. I look behind me to see a pony wearing a trench coat and sunglasses. I look down at my hooves to see that I'm no longer invisible. I quickly look at my hoof and see that the Cloak-n-Kill v1.0 BETA reads:

NO BATTERY

Well shit.

I leap away quick enough to not get hurt by the grenade explosion. I roll and unslung my rifle once more. I look through the scope and look for the trench coat pony. I aim until I see him, charging at me with a taser. I take a shot, but barely miss his head, penetrating a can of preserved vegetables. He's getting closer, and I take another shot. This one hits his hoof with the taser. He collapses and drops the taser, a loud clump! filling the thick, musty air. I walk over and look at his pathetic appearance, sprawled on the floor, hoof in a pool of blood. He's holding his hoof and trying to stop the blood, but that's not working. He then pulls a pistol out of his coat pocket and aims it at me. I barely have time to react as he sprays bullets in a barrage right at my chest. I take cover behind a shelf of water bottles.

Probably not the best hiding spot.

I start to crouch walk to the opposite side of the room, hoping I could escape through the hatch that got me here in the first place. I then make a decision to peek out of the water bottle cover and see if he's there. I take a peek, and right when I do, a hoof punches me from behind, launching me through the water bottle filled shelf. I hit the ground, hard, followed by a loud crunching noise. I lift myself up and see blood dripping from my nose. I'm then pulled to my hooves and grabbed by the neck.

The figure is lifting me off the ground by the neck. My lungs feel like they want to explode. He lifts me up and aims the pistol at my head.

"Say goodnight, Neon!" He exclaims.

Without thinking, I pull out the gut knife and shove it through his throat. Blood splatters on my face as I push it deeper to the sound of his chocking. I finally pull it to the left, and he falls to the ground. Blood pools out from the cut in his neck as I take a few deep breaths to recover myself. I then shake my head and walk towards the ladder.

I'm almost about to climb it, when something knocks me out from behind.


	12. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

My eyes open wearily as I'm dragged to my hooves by a brutal force. I only make a sound when the pony punches me clear across the face, then again. Using me like a punching bag, the force knocks two of my teeth out and gives me a black eye, and a couple of minor bruises. The pony then grabs my chest and throws me like a toy. I hit the ground hard, weak from all the pain I'm going through. The figure then walks up, pulls up a chair out of no where, and forces me on it. He then grabs a chain and ties it around my chest, making it near impossible to breathe. I wheeze as the figure stands before me and looks into my pain filled eyes.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Look who made the mistake of coming here to rob us!" They say with a slight accent.

I don't speak, I don't need to or have to.

They then continue.

"You know, there are a lot of bad ways this can go. I can skin you, punch you to death, test my new homemade flamethrower on ya, anything like that! Nothing's off limits for a bastard like you!" They say evilly.

"Let me go!" I yell at them.

They laugh and look me straight in the eye.

"As much as we'd like to, which we don't, we're not gonna. You see, we can't have word spread of our location and what were doing with ponies like you! Instead, we need to eliminate the threat, to its roots. That's means were gonna not only kill you, but kill off your whole team as well!" He says, laughing out the last part.

"You leave my team alone, you son of a bitch!" I yell with some of the last air I have.

"Aw, isn't that cute? Little baby decides to stand up for himself! Well, let's see how much of a tough guy you are when we bring your little friend along too!" He taunts

"BRING HIM OUT, CHOPPER!"

I then hear the sound of a wooden object scotching across the ground. I look ahead of me, and out of the darkness, Eagle Eyes comes out, strapped down to a table, cut and bruised like me,

Trying to escape.

"Now, we fought your little pal here wandering about like a moron, am I right?" He asks Eagle Eyes.

Eagle Eyes doesn't respond. Instead, he closes his eyes and doesn't open them.

"Anyways, me and him struck a deal when we first got him here. Ya see, this trap has been set up for the longest time, really. Even before you were assigned the job, we knew. That's why when Eagle Eyes came to join us, he struck a deal with us. Isn't that right, Eagle?" He asks Eagle again.

Eagle still doesn't open his eyes, but his expression changes from anger, to nervousness.

Chopper then tilts the table so it's facing strait upwards. Since Eagle Eyes is tied to the table firmly, he doesn't sill or fall.

"Come on Eagle, tell your little buddy what the deal was!"

Eagle Eyes doesn't open his eyes.

"You can do it! Do we have to force you to say it?"

Eagle still remains closing his eyes.

"Eagle...what the hell was the deal?!" I ask, scared and angry at the same time.

Eagle Eyes opens his eyes slowly.

"Ah, forget it, I'll say it myself. The deal was-"

"That I would have to give up my own life for you to live." Eagle Eyes finishes, surprisingly calm in the face of death.

"There we go, now was that so hard?" He asks Eagle Sarcastically.

Eagle Eyes doesn't talk.

I'm too worried for Eagle Eyes to even speak.

"Now, when we captured him, he wasn't even up to talking to us. But eventually, after some whipping coming in handy, he finally agreed. Now, I know I said earlier that there were a lot of ways we could kill you because we needed to, but I was just kidding. In reality, were gonna jail ya here for the rest of your sad life!" He says, spitting out the last words in my face.

"I'm tired of doing all the talking." He says. "Eagle Eyes will now take over!"

Eagle Eyes's eyes go wide and look at me as Chopper pulls a gut knife, my own gut knife, and begins cutting down the hoof of Eagle Eyes.

A tear then runs down the face of my one true friend.

And I can never forgive myself,

The screams of agony pierce the silence as the mixture of chaos is with his pain, and my own thoughts. Chopper is cutting down his chest line, blood staining the wooden table like paint. I struggle to escape my chair and run to Eagle Eyes's need. It's no use, the chains are wrapped to tight.

We're doomed.

I scream for help as Eagle Eyes screams in pain. His chest is mangled up, blood staining his once clean pelt. I know yelling for someone won't help, but I keep trying anyways.

But maybe I'm wrong.

Because at the moment, a hole blows open in the ceiling, concrete dust raining down. Multiple ponies from The Heat drop down, all wearing black suits, and aim Assault Rifles at Chopper. Chopper then suddenly raises his hooves and drops his gut knife. He slowly gets to his knees as the other ponies approach him. Before they get near enough to grab him, he pulls his hooves from behind his head and pulls out a Desert Eagle, taking shots while running away.

"OPEN FIRE!" One of the ponies yells.

The sound of gunshots fill the air like a bittersweet melody. Shells rain to the ground as Chopper begins to get shot. His back explodes in multiple bullet wound injuries as he collapses. His lifeless body is accompanied by his precious Desert Eagle, which is now unused and unloaded. The Heat ponies come to my chair and smash the chain. I pull free from the chair and immediately rush to Eagle Eyes and rip away the rope. Tears stream down my eyes as I pull away his body from the table that helped his torture. I lay him on e ground and inspect the wounds.

Deep. All the wounds are deep and bad.

I need to find Dove.

A solider pony taps me on the shoulder.

"Let me take him, son." He says, holding out his hoof.

I refuse to take it.

"No!" I yell. "He saved my life, so I'm going to return the favor! That's what friends do!"

The soldier moves back as I pick him up and carry him in my two arms. I walk through the wall of soldiers and cling onto the rope they used to get down here. The rope is then suddenly pulled up, and more ropes drop down for the other soldiers. I'm still being pulled up when I hear a sputter come from Eagle Eyes.

I look down at him, his eyes just barely open, and he speaks.

"I-*cough* knew when I first-*cough* met you, you would be the perfect member of our *cough* team!"

I still look down at him, this time on solid ground on the next floor above the chamber.

"No, Eagle, that's you! You are the perfect member to our team! Our team can't live without you!" I barely make out, sadness and anger welling up inside me.

He then shakily puts his hoof to my heart.

"I can't begin to tell you *cough* how lucky I was to *cough* have a friend like you!" He says, smiling calmly.

Tears are flowing down my cheeks as he lowers his hand down.

He then hands me his cube, the precious cube, and I wearily grab it from him.

"Now...finish what we started, and save Ponyville from this freezing hell!" He says with some of the last breath in him.

"Promise?"

"Promise." I croak out, not leaving his side.

His breathing slows down and shortens, and he shuts his eyes once more. I pull him over my shoulder and pull the rifle from his back. It's modified with a thermal scope, making it a perfect hitman weapon. It's painted with a black background and multiple flames burning up the gun to the barrel. I look at the other side of the gun and see it's an Intervention, not the best on damage, but fantastic on range. I look around, and run as fast as I can.

I don't even know where I'm going.

I skid around a concrete hallway with a torn poster containing text that I don't bother to read. I charge past apparently abandoned rooms as I look frantically for an exit. I find a narrow staircase, and I run up them. The staircase goes up to the next floor, three floors under the basement room I was knocked out in. I rapidly look for another exit when I notice something from the corner of my eye:

A sign reading VAULTS 1A-3Z.

Maybe I can quickly find Vault 2F and get out.

I the jog slowly and observe the labels of the vaults.

3I, no. 3B, no. 2X, not even. I know I'm getting close to the end of the hallway, however. It doesn't seem like vault 2F would fit on this floor. But to my luck, right at the end of the hallway, Vault 2F sit idle. I then rummage through Eagle Eyes pouch and find a small triggered explosive. Oh the things Eagle must have planned.

I then stick the sticky side of the explosive on the thick metal door. I then arm the sticky bomb and the trigger through multiple lines of a combination on on a slip of paper, conveniently stored in the pouch, and bring Eagle Eyes to a safe distance down the hallway.

I make a countdown in my head.

5.

4.

Ah screw it.

I then push the button, and seconds later, slabs of metal shoot across the hall like lightning. Smoke spills out of the vault as I approach it wearily. The smoke clears up, and on a pedestal, there's a simple, green backpack, probably from a school somewhere. I then hastily swing the pack over my shoulder and continue to carry Eagle Eyes. We make it up the rest of the two floors, still unnoticed or without any trouble. In fact, even on the floor labeled:

ROOMS AND MESS HALL.

Theres no one to be seen. I continue to climb up the stairs, getting sore and tired, until I hear voices.

"...How many did you say?" A voice says, sounding strangely familiar in a twisted sort of way.

"About maybe 25 or 30." Another voice replies with.

I hind behind cover, a pile of cardboard boxes at the right if the staircase, and listen in on their conversation. They continue to mumble, making it hard to understand what they're saying. I decide, after a few minutes of unsuccessful spying, I make an appearance and hope for the best. I step from my cover and un-sling the rifle, Eagle Eyes's rifle, and aim at the two ponies. To my surprise, they're ponies from The Heat, specifically the ones working in the factory with Eagle. They raise their hooves in the air.

"Hey, hey, easy kid. Watch where you're pointing that!" One of them says, pointing to my rifle.

"Wait a second, aren't you the kid who was sent here on the mission?" The other asks.

"Uh...ye-yeah." I reply with, partially confused and nervous. Why were the ponies here? How did they GET here?

"Were supposed to, uh, help you. I think." He says, making himself looking dumb.

"Well, I don't need the help, he does." I say, pointing to Eagle Eyes.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this stallion some help!"

Surprised at this ponies kindness, I gingerly follow him and his companion until we get to another stairwell. I then follow them up it until we arrive at the basement. I look to where I was knocked out, and not to my surprise, a dry blood splatter lay there. But something else lay in the middle of it. A tooth. I had lost a tooth. I felt around my mouth with my tongue, and as an answer, a tooth sized hole was in the front of my mouth. I must look really dorky with a tooth missing like this.

I look away and follow the ponies back up the ladder to the kitchen. Up here, however, I see multiple ponies with flashlights searching around for something that must be valuable. Many of them were holding glocks or S.W.A.T rifles, while the others were wielding batons or tasers.

I never knew we had this kind of equipment.

I walk with the strange ponies to the counter when suddenly we hear a yell come from back in the kitchen. Without thinking, I rush to see what's happening. A group of the flashlight ponies were gathered around a room labeled:

EMPLOYEE BATHROOMS.

Why would they care about such a room?

I sling Eagle Eyes rifle on my back and walk up the the group.

Without warning, one of them pushes a FAMAS to my chest. I hold the gun, and am about to speak, when one of the others hands me a c4.

"WE NEED THIS ON THE DOOR, PRONTO!" They yell.

I scramble to the door and stick the bomb on the door. The code is somewhat confusing, so I ask what the code is. A pony pushes me aside and arms the c4.

"ON THE COUNT OF THREE, WE MOVE IN THERE, ALRIGHT?!" One yells, maybe the group leader.

We all yell in agreement as we arm ourselves on both sides of the door.

"3!" He yells.

"2!"

"1!"

A boom sounds from the door as we charge into the room. Shooting from our guns counter the fire conning from the other side of the dust filled room. We keep charging, loosing more and more of us, until we make it out of the smoke. Ahead is a line of computers in the shape of a U. Inside the computer lab are eyepatches ponies wielding snipers and pistols. We take out the snipers first by tapping our machine guns in burst. Then, right when were about to take out the pistol goers, we hear the sound of a barrel spinning up.

A minigun.

Multiple bullets wiz by me and hit my fellow comrades. The minigun is too strong for us. We can't make it.

I won't let that happen.

By now most of my teammates are running, trailing blood behind. I don't. I simply walk forward in the fray. I scoop up a smoke grenade from a fallen pony and pull the pin. I then chuck it at the ground in front of me and rush through. I quickly drop the FAMAS I was holding and unslung Eagle Eyes's rifle. Without any trouble, I scope in and search for any heat signatures. Immediately I find that of the dazed minigun holder and aim for his head.

BANG!

His heat signature disappears.

BANG!

I headshot another.

Ones trying to run away, the last one alive.

Not gonna happen.

BANG!

He drops.

What a sucker.

I lower the rifle with my sweaty hooves, noticing the smoke had cleared up and not a single shot was fired towards me.

Huh, strange.

I then casually walk out the room and shut the door behind me like the professional I'm not. With the cockiest smile on my face and closed eyes, I stroll out like it was nothing too big. I then peek open my eyes and see a group of ponies rounded around me, eyes wide, mouthed open in awe.

I look at each of them.

"What? He was just a newbie who got his hands on a big gun, no biggie."

By now I'm pretty sure they could tell I was taking it a bit overboard with the cockiness, but I don't care, as long as I pulled off a stunt like that, I'm happy.

I walk through the crowd and parkour over the counter. I then push open the doors and walk out into the cold, unforgiving air of Equestria.

Ah, yes, it's good to be back!


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Eagle Eyes is groaning after he stretches from his week long slumber. His hooves are covered in bloody bandages, and his face is packed with stitches too. All in all, he looks like a mess, but all I'm happy about is the fact that he's alive. He stretches his back and takes a look around. All I bet he can see is the same hospital room were all familiar with. But he seems to see something else, I can't tell what, but he looks scared. Something is deeply bothering him...

I tap him on the shoulder from where I was sitting. I've been keeping a watchful eye on him for the past week, I couldn't bare to leave him alone. Most of the ponies in The Heat were surprisingly open to me staying with him when we thought it was certain death. But, thanks to Doves amazing medical skills, he still lives to see another day. The soldiers that bust in the computer room with me explained what it was all about. They said that after my radio signal went dead, Candle and Mesh Flesh contacted back-up. When back-up then arrived, they explained that me AND Eagle Eyes were captured, so stealth would be useless. They said that they barged through and snooped around for us until they heard our voices. That's when they saved us.

But even when they rescued us and left us alone to run back home, there was no one there to stop us. They were then investigating to see where the ponies lurked, only to find they were hiding in a secret room they labeled BATHROOM so no one would approach. That's where we busted in a killed off the last of the bad guys.

And a week later, here I am.

Eagle Eyes flips around, seeming startled, and relaxes when he catches sight of me. I smile and pat him in the back.

"You know, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you!" I say sympathetically.

"Ah it's nothing! I really did mean what I said back there, though. I am lucky to be friends with such a pony as you!"

"Likewise." I reply, still happy.

"Look." He says, now staring me in the eyes. " I know your thanking me and all, but I need to thank you, lad, if it were another team member, they would've left me for dead! You did something that no one would ever dream of doing. Ever. And I'm glad that I was a part of that! Thank you, thank you for saving my life. I'm in your debt."

"You don't owe me anything!" I say, shaking my head. "I've already got everything I need."

"No, no, no! There's something I'm going to give you, regardless of what you say. You can't deny it, Neon, I'm going to give you Phoenix."

I go wide eyed. Phoenix is the flaming Intervention that he prizes more than anything. And now, he's giving it to me.

"Take care of her. Even if I might be one of the best snipers on the team, I know you can do better." He says.

He un-slings it from his back and hands it to me. I take it, now knowing how to thank him. Luckily, I don't, because he slumps back in his bed and falls fast asleep.

Two days have past by like the wind since I got the privilege to own Phoenix. I've taken good care of her: cleaning her, making sure not to damage anything, everything. I even got a protective sling as a gift from Fluttershy. Eagle Eyes is now back to working at the gun factory, and has the responsibility of creating the new weapon. Everyone lately is at full speed, creating to their hearts content. Even I was assigned the job to forge multiple knives in just a day! Gut knives, bayonets, butterfly knives, you name it! It seemed like we were going to war, and soon, because I've barely gotten any sleep from all the work pushed onto me.

I polish the new Hunting Knife, freshly forged, and begin to paint it. For whatever reason, some knives have special paint orders. This one is called Frosting, a tan knife with white paint that looks like frosting dripping from the top of the blade with multiple colored sprinkles. I pull out the stencils and begin to spray paint. Once I'm done, I set the knife to dry and begin working in another. Hours pass as the pile of finished knives begin to grow. Eventually, I get help from Steely, forging, finishing, and painting the knives. We keep working until the moon is high in the sky. We wile the sweat off of our foreheads and take in the glory of the finished knives.

We're ready.

I say goodbye and night to Steely and walk to my den. When I'm about to climb in, however, I notice a slip of paper help down to the ground with two stones. I slip off the stones and read the note. It's reads:

Neon,

I hope you get this letter as soon as possible.

We need you at the factory, for the weapon and plan are finished, and we don't have much time.

Discard this message once your done.

-Fluttershy

Well, if it's that important, sleep can wait I thought to myself. How long has this message been here?

I shrug and crumple it up. I throw it in my den, for later, and walk to the factory. It's quite chilly at night here, but not as cold as it would've been outside. I breathe out vapors of cold air as I knock on the door.

Instead of someone answering, the door then slowly opens. I peek my head around the door and look inside. Fluttershy is asleep with her head down on the table, along with a new weapon at her side. She has numerous cups of what look to be coffee empty and scattered across the desk. I walk to her, the floorboards creaking with each step. I tap her shoulder and she wakes with a start, looking around frantically for an attacker.

"AH!" She exclaims when she notices me.

She nearly falls out of chair as she recollects herself and begins to stare tiredly at me.

"Oh, you finally came!" She says dreamily.

"Yeah, sorry I couldn't come earlier!" I apologize.

"It's...it's ok, really." She yawns out.

"You ok?" I ask. "I know it's late in the night, about 9:30 at best, but you look sleepier than usual." I say, observing the rings under her eyes.

"It's been a stressful week." She admits. "I haven't got an hour of sleep."

I go wide eyed.

"At all?" I ask.

She nods slowly.

"Tell me, Fluttershy, why is this weapon and this plan of yours so important?" I ask.

She sighs and I sit myself in an open stool.

"You see, me and the rest of the gang, we think we've finally found a way to use the matter."

I keep listening, making sure not to miss a word she says.

"We think this weapon will do the trick." She says, patting the gun. "It's a fully charged sniper rifle that shoots nothing but pure matter. It uses a compact battery that can last for 5 shots. We used all the materials you scrounged up, and we made this beaut. Amazing, isn't she?"

I look at it, taking time to observe it. It's a compact sniper with a reinforced steel body, and barrel. It has a green scope that glows faintly in the dark. The butt is made of wood and is painted, like the rest of the rifle, a charcoal black. The interesting part of it is the battery pack, a small slab of metal with wires all connecting to the clip of the rifle near the middle of the gun. The battery is the color of metal and has a decal of a lightning bolt, along with a few buttons and switches that do various things. It lets out a quiet wirr as it sends electricity to the bullets inside. I let out a low whistle as I bring my attention back to Fluttershy.

"Back to the point, the sheer power in this thing is enough to give a whole city power! That's why we used it, because the scientists here think that it has enough charge to power the matter, inst that great? But the only downside is, for the matter to have full effect, we need to go somewhere specific, somewhere that needs all this preparation, all these weapons and rations and whatnot. That place...is Canterlot."

My heart sinks into the pits of my stomach. Canterlot is a terrible place to be. Worse than the Forest Of Powder or Ponyville or anywhere. I don't know how we can manage to arrive there without dying.

"Now, even though we have all the supplies and weapons we need, and we have a plan, there's one problem that still hangs."

I lean in closer.

"My old friends will be there."

I go wide eyed.

"Every one of em: Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, they're all there. And they're waiting...waiting for us to arrive. I can't encounter them again, it's...complicated. I'm sure you understand."

I nod, not actually understanding what's so bad about meeting them, but still surprised that they're still alive.

"They plan to stop us because they think what were doing is wrong. How could our plan to bring Equestria to peace be wrong? I'm not sure, nor is the rest of the team, but we must avoid them at all costs. That's why I'm going with you. We're going to split everyone else into bigger groups assigned different tasks so that me and you can do the main objective."

"What about Eagle Eyes? What'll happen to him?"

She sighs.

"I don't know, I haven't thought that much about it. Well think of something, I'm sure."

I slump in my chair and sigh. I do hope we think of something, something soon.

"We plan on doing it in two days." She blurts out.

Two days? That's not long at all. How can we manage to prepare in just two days?

"We'll be ready, don't worry." She says, somehow reading my mind.

I nod and stand up stretching my legs.

"Ill see you in the morning!" She says with the last energy she has.

And with that, she collapses on the table and falls back to sleep.

I decide to pick her up and bring her back to her bed, a much warmer and welcoming place. She's lighter than I think when I lift her off the table and carry her in my hooves. I mock open the door gently and walk to her den. I then lay her down and whisper to her goodnight. I then walk back to my den, and find my old friend again.

Sleep.


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A gentle snowflake rests on my nose in the face of chaos.

I walk alone down a dark and cold path, not knowing what will happen next. As of right now, I'm supposed to scout out the area ahead, due to many dangers that may lurk. It's a funny feeling, really, being alone after you've been alongside many for what feels like decades. I can't believe the day has actually come, the day of our triumph.

Today, we're gonna end this. Once and for all.

I observe the dark and cloudy scenery, snow drifting from the sky in a light pattern. The fog is so thick today that you can barely see five feet in front of you. That's why I'm scouting, because I was given Phoenix, the amazing heat seeking for any intruders that we may encounter. I hold it in my hands it's warmth providing me with something to be glad about. I use the scope for a check, and find that there are no heat signatures nearby. I aim down the sights and march forward.

Suddenly, my head begins to burn.

I fall to the ground and watch the world spin around me. My head aches from the immense pain flowing through it. I struggle to make it go away, but fail. I yell in pain and scramble on the ground, trying to find a way to make it disappear. After a while of a terrible headache, it finally decays and my head feels good as new. I shake my head and put my hoof to my head. I feel nothing in its spot. Weird.

I continue to walk, minutes passing by. I walk until I find what I'm looking for.

The railroad tracks to Canterlot.

I push on the earpiece and speak.

"Clear. No traps, no gangs, nothing. You can move now."

"Over." A voice replies with, Fluttershy to be exact.

I then decide to wait rather than Togo on ahead. I reach into my backpack and find a pack of matches. I then search for firewood, which doesn't turn out very well due to the stupid snow. I find some dry sticks, put them in a pile, and throw three matches on it. A spark lights, then all the wood catches fire. My eyes glow as I stare with a smile at the flames. I stick my hooves out to warm them, and sit myself down on the ground.

I lay on my back and stare at the snow falling to the ground. Some land on my face as I squint my eyes against the mist in the air. I close my eyes and take a couple deep breaths. It's gonna be fine. Well all be ok.

I keep my eyes closed for a while, then open them to find a can of sardines on my chest. I look at them, and look across the fire.

"Morning, sunshine!" They say sarcastically.

"Eagle Eyes!" I exclaim. I scramble back, surprised that he's actually here. I thought he was supposed to stay back at camp and recover.

"Yep, it's me." He says with a smile. "Couldn't miss an event such as this!"

"But...but...how did you not get caught?" I ask.

He spreads his wings.

"Hey, they still work like a charm."

I smile, feeling happy that Eagle is being himself. At least I don't have to fight the loneliness any longer.

"So, what's the plan?" He asks.

"You mean you don't know?" I say, staring at him confused.

"They didn't tell me anything when I was still getting patched up." He confesses.

So I explain, the matter, the rifle, everything. After I finish my last sentence, he nods and says:

"Well, I'm going with you and Flutter, regardless of what she or you think."

"But Eagle, your not fully healed! If you are going to go, do it with the medical team or another group. Don't go with us, it's too dangerous! I can't let you die!"

He walks around the fire and site by my side. He opens his can of sardines and puts his hoof around my back.

"Look, I need to go with you. I've always dreamed of helping stop the cold, so I can't let this chance go. I'm prepared, even if I have a couple of scratches, so what? I can still fight. And fight I will. I can help, and even if you disagree, I'm still going..."

I look at him. The pony who found me one day in a storage room is now considering me his friend. He's got bandages and scratches and wounds still not fully healed, but he still has the courage to fight.

"I appreciate your courage, Eagle. But are you actually able to fire a gun?"

He looks at me with a Are You Serious? look. I then take a hint and look back at the fire.

"Well, if you are coming along, we can't let the others know just yet. I'm gonna ask if I can go ahead. If Fluttershy says yes, then you come with me. If she says no, I'm still going with you."

"What makes you think I can't go alone?" He asks.

"The time when you got captured by that crazed pony and nearly killed..."

"Good point." He says.

I roll my eyes and push on the earpiece.

"Permission to move ahead, over." I ask.

I wait for a response.

"Permission granted." Fluttershy grants.

I let out a sigh of relief as I pack up my supplies. The sardines I hold in my hoof as I douse out the fire with piles of snow. After the wisps of smoke vanish in the air, I help Eagle Eyes up to his hooves. He grunts out a thanks and starts to lift off the ground slightly due to his wings flapping in motion. We begin to then go forth, one Earth Pony, one Pegasus. He flies slightly off the ground to my right making sure to not go too fast or too slow as we march up the semi-steep incline of train tracks. The frozen metal burns my hooves with a numb feeling. I take quick steps to avoid this, for I can't manage to accomplish anything with frozen hooves, can I?

I shake my head and notice were passing through a tunnel made of rock. It seems to be fairly dry in here, some signs of snow show, but not many. I cough and it echoes across the cave. Eagle Eyes then shows a grin on his face and says:

"Eagle Eyes is the coolest pony ever!"

It echoes for a while, slightly getting quieter each time.

I grin and reply with:

"DubNeon is cooler than him!"

We both let out a small laugh and keep walking. Eventually, we come to the exit, where we're greeted once again by a gust of wind and snow. Remembering that this next part is icy and steep, I take more cautious steps, avoiding anything that may cause a slip-up. Eagle Eyes is having no problem, however, except for the fact that his wings must be getting slightly tired. I use my strength to pull myself over the ice railroad. Using the tracks as a ladder, I struggle not to loose my footing. I'm nearly there when I feel my front hooves give way. I slip back and yell, only to be quickly caught by Eagle.

"I gotcha!" He says, struggling to carry me while flying.

He carries me to the top, not to far away, and sets me down.

"You saved my life!" I pant.

"Ah, it was nothin!" He replies with.

I breathe deeply, feeling glad that I'm alive, and recover myself. I then continue to walk with Eagle as if nothing happened, nothing at all. After some time of strolling along, we see the outline of a huge tower, smothered in the think fog. We continue to walk until we see the train station. It's wood flooring is sagging with age and the cold, and the roof has holes and is piled with snow. The ticket room has no lights shining, and most of the windows are smashed. The bright and cheerful sign that used to read:

Welcome to Canterlot!

Is now grey and surrounded with a thick layer of ice.

I sigh and walk up the cold wooden stairs to the ticket room. I walk into the room with the door on the ground, and let my eyes take in the trashed, abandoned look of the room: Old newspapers, trash, smashed glass, snow, and graffiti. It all added up to a ghostly look that made me shiver at its sight. I even think Eagle Eyes is feeling what I'm feeling.

"This used to be a busy place." He said out of the blue, picking up a roll of old train tickets and observing it. "Huge lines, money flowing, trains rushing by, this had a nice atmosphere. Until..."

I nodded, understanding what happened.

"Anyways, we should start heading out, we never know-"

"HEY!" A voice yells behind us.

We whip around, startled at the voice.

Fluttershy is standing in the doorway, holding a chainsaw.

My blood runs cold as Eagle Eyes stares right into Fluttershy's furious eyes.

She marches up to him and goes face to face.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT COMING ALONG?!" She asks.

"Uh...I, uh, thought I needed to come along and help, so I uh came along with Neon, and here we are!" He stresses out.

"THATS IT!" She exclaims. She grabs his front left hoof and begins to drag him out the door.

He struggles to escape her grasp, but seems to be outmatched.

"Wait, Flutter!" Eagle starts.

"NO BUTS!" She yells back.

Before she exits the room, I interrupt.

"WAIT!" I yell.

Fluttershy stops without looking back.

"You can't take him! We need him to help us! Without him, it's certain death! Please, Fluttershy, do this one thing for me. Do it for everyone."

She sighs and turns her head.

"We can manage without him." She says, obviously trying to calm down.

"No, we can't. What happens if you and I both get captured or killed? Who will be there to tell the others? Who will be there to help save us in the rain of bullets? Tell me, Fluttershy, would you rather have to beat the odds of luck, or have it in our favor?"

She looks at me, then at the struggling Eagle.

"Oh, alright! Since it's no use to send him back anyways, he can come." She says, giving up the argument.

She lets Eagle Eyes go and he picks himself up. He brushes off his arms and looks at Fluttershy.

"Thanks, Flutter!" He thanks.

She nods, still not fully convinced.

"Well, now that that's over with, I'll get the others."

She walks out the door and leaves me and Eagle to ourselves.

"So...remember the base escape?"

"Hm?" He asks.

"Like when I saved your ass from those hackers?"

"Oh, that? I don't remember much from it. All I remember are these scars, but that's it."

I nod and continue to speak.

"Well, I remember that the base was empty. I'm not sure why, though. Do you know why? I've been thinking of that question for quite a while."

Eagle thinks for a bit, then says.

"You know, I was told something like that when I arrived back home. Apparently, they had captured the last of them. They then took them to a place where they were questioned. We don't like to kill our hostages, so we let them go, as long as they never spoke a word of what happened."

"How did we pull that off? How did we capture all those ponies?"

Eagle Eyes shrugs and watches as Fluttershy peeks her head back inside.

"We're ready." She says.

Me and Eagle nod in approval.

"Let's do this!" I say.


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

We step over the shattered glass and onto the fallen territory of a once bustling town.

The wind picks up speed and throws the falling snow around like bullets. I try my best to see in the frost, but it's so thick it's almost impossible to overlook the land in front of you. The sounds of strong winds fill the air as I walk farther alongside my two friends, Fluttershy, and Eagle Eyes, the two that I'm going to go with, to end the cold.

Forever.

Since the winds and size of snow have been picking up, many of the usual gang ponies are making the decision to stay indoors. This, of course, has it's benefits and downfalls. As long as we persevere through the cold, we should not be bothered.

I hope.

The winds start to die down slightly as we crusade through a abandoned shopping section of town. The fabric of flags and banners whip in the wind like a snake. The rips in them prove the theory of the winds being fast, along with the snow being like hail. The windows of the buildings seem empty and have no sight of movement, as far as we can see. Which, if you think about it, isn't far at all.

We lunge over a toppled bus and land on piles of greasy trash bags. We squirm away from the disgusting matter and gag at the smell. After we end up out of the trash, Eagle Eyes points to the tower, now visible due to the winds calming down.

"There it is." He says in amazement.

I look at the castle. The vast structure still intact from the frost, the windows painted many colors of beauty, and something out of the ordinary, a-.

"Is, is that a light in the window?" I spot.

Eagle Eyes and Fluttershy look where I'm looking. Sure enough, at the top of the tower, there's a light shining through a single glass pane.

"It must be a trap." Fluttershy finally says. "It makes sense: make a wandering pony arrive there, thinking there's warmth and food. then, out of the blue, they get assassinated or killed by a trap. Clever, actually."

I nod.

"But, what if it isn't a trap?" Eagle Eyes asks.

"Then well just have to find out." Fluttershy answers.

We all agree on a plan to invade, then, I push on my earpiece.

"Medical team? You there, Medical team?"

"Alive and well." A pony replies, Mesh Flesh exactly.

"We're in place, getting ready to invade the castle. Your team ready?"

"We're ready. Stay safe! Over."

I give a ready look to the others, and they begin to run with me. Ice patches seem to be a problem for me and Fluttershy, but not for Eagle Eyes. Even if the snow is making him not able to see much, he still flies with speed and efficiency.

We finally arrive at the entrance. The broad gates touring over us, casting a shadow of power and royalty on our pelts. We look at the door and find a lock, a thick one at that.

"Lemme handle this." Fluttershy says, pushing me aside.

She ruffles around in her bag and pulls out a lock picking set. She pulls out the torque wrench and the hook pick. She tampers with the lock for a while, then suddenly, the lock falls off.

"There you go!" She says, opening the door and holding it for me and Eagle.

I give a brief thanks and rush through the door, holding Phoenix in my hands. We run up the stairs of the old castle and search around for access to the upper floors. After some time, we find another staircase that looks older and less sturdy. We ignore this and rush up it in the same manner as before. We finally come to a long hallway. At the end, a single door lay idle.

Nothing moves.

I finally take a step.

Nothing.

I take two more.

Silence.

I look back at the gang and give them a silent countdown from three.

Three.

Two.

Run.

I dash across the hallway, ignoring any arrows or bullets that may be shooting out of the walls. After I loose my adrenaline, I finally make it to the door. I wait impatiently for Eagle Eyes and Fluttershy to catch up. When they do, I speak up.

"Huh, no traps." I breathe out.

"That's strange! Usually there would be traps here." She says, just as confused as me.

"Let's ignore that for now. What's behind this door?" Eagle asks.

"Behind this door is a big room, the throne room, where our job is to lay the matter on the throne, shoot it with the energy, and let it work it's magic. Seems simple enough. Got it?"

We nod, already having been through this multiple times.

"Ok, now look guys, I can't guarantee that this room is safe. We need to be careful-"

"It's ok, Fluttershy!" I interrupt. "We can manage. Let's just end this without any time to spare, ok?"

Fluttershy seems taken back at the fact that I interrupted her.

"Uh, yeah, ok." She says awkwardly.

I nod and slowly push open the door. It creaks and lets out a rush of warm air. We slide into the room and amble for a little, observing the stained glass murals on the walls. Light shines slightly through them, casting beams of dim light onto the long red carpet in the middle of the room. We approach the throne and stand in front of it, taking in its beauty. Eagle Eyes then pulls out the cube.

He's about to place it on the chair, when we hear the word.

"Wait!"

I turn around and gasp.

The rest of the mane 6.

"Put that down." One of them says, Twilight to be exact.

Eagle Eyes remains frozen in fear alongside me.

"No!" Fluttershy yells back.

Applejack steps forward.

"Y'all best back away, before we have to make ya."

They all look mad, with a hint of sadness as well.

Silence.

I speak.

"We won't stop!" I say bravely. "We've come too far to let Equestria down! We'll fight to the end, no matter what, as a team. If you don't approve of our quest, so be it."

I snatch the cube from Eagle and turn to place it on the chair.

"He's become one of them." Rarity says silently.

I stop.

"What do you mean?" I ask over my shoulder.

"They don't know what they're talking about! Place the cube on the chair, Neon! NOW!" Fluttershy yells at me in a jittery tone.

"So he doesn't know, does he?" Twilight asks.

"Know what?" I ask. "Fluttershy, what the hell are they talking about?"

"I don't know, you tell me! Just place the matter on the throne! Hurry!"

"He's right, Flutter. What are they talking about?" Eagle Eyes finally says with a hint of anger and confusion.

"I...I told you I don't know-"

"Don't act like you don't know how Rainbow Dash really died, darling." Rarity interrupts. "If you don't share yourself, we'll do it for you."

Sweat trickles down Fluttershy's face as Twilight sighs and clears her throat.

"Let's begin two weeks before the death occurred." Twilight begins. "It was a cold day as usual. I had the job of helping the sick, while the others here were doing their own thing. Anyways, after I was done checking up on my patient, I went over to check up on our leader, Rainbow Dash."

I go wide eyed. The Mane 6 used to be a part of The Heat?!

"Now, in this time, I had not been aware of the monster that was slowly being created inside our old base. That monster, we'll get back to, but for now, let's continue with Rainbow Dash. After I found her in her office, she say me down and was as enthusiastic as ever about my arrival. We had a nice chat, then I noticed something was wrong with Rainbow Dash. I proceeded to ask her, yet she kept saying it was nothing. Eventually, after a day or two, I asked he again. This time, she answered simply with Fluttershy. I asked why and she explained the truth about her, the ugly truth I'll never forgive."

"At that time, we'd been planning to counter a battle with another team. This team had a reputation of being bad, but we knew we could end this battle peacefully. So Rainbow Dash ordered us to come up with reasons on why we shouldn't battle. We had contacted smaller authorities of the group and explained our idea, and they seemed to be pleased with it. This went on until that one day when I asked Rainbow Dash why she was upset."

"She had explained to me that Fluttershy's idea of ending this battle was bloodshed. She thought if we could lure them into a trap of false peace, then we could kill them off Altogether. The scary part of this was that it was making Rainbow Dash genuinely nervous. She knew that Fluttershy was capable of such actions, so I agreed to attempt to stop her. Oh what a mistake that was."

"The two weeks passed by quickly as I made haste convincing Fluttershy that war isn't the way to go. Two weeks of her closed thoughts blocking out the world around her. Two damn weeks of her insanity building up inside her. When the enemy arrived, Applejack here greeted them and told them our reasoning against war. In fact, it was going so well that the leader of the team was beginning to agree. It was all going perfect, until, out of nowhere, chaos struck."

"Fluttershy had been building a silo underground, a hidden one, just below the surface of the soil right behind us. The dirt and snow collapsed behind us as a medium sized missile was slowly rising out of its home. It then launched into the crisp winter air, going quite always in the sky. It then dove down like a eagle attempting to catch its prey, and struck where our humble meeting occurred. Fire and smoke smothered the land around, killing all the other ponies and even some of our own in a massacre. Ash covered remains of dead ponies littered the huge dirt crater as fires burned the snow around. Me, along with the others here, managed to rush outside in time to see what had happened. And this is where it begins to get even worse."

"Rainbow Dash rushed outside with us and was horrified at the scene. We ran towards the surviving yet wounding ponies and helped them onto their hooves, one of which was Applejack. Her back legs was severely burned and her hat was lost in the fire, but she managed to come out ok. When we started pointing fingers on who to blame, Fluttershy strode out of the base with the look of fury and revenge on her eyes. While me and the others were too shocked to blame her, Rainbow Dash yelled at her on why she did what she had done. Fluttershy, with an evil grin, replied simply with:

They needed to die eventually."

"Rainbow Dash then spread her wings and dashed towards Fluttershy, hoof extended to punch her straight in the eyes. Fluttershy, having stood where she was, quickly drew a Five-SeveN from its holster and emptied the whole clip into the skull of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash collapsed to the ground, skull full of lead, and gasped for air, but quickly died after. I screamed along with the others as Fluttershy approached us and evilly said:

Run."

"So that's what we did. We ran and ran until we came to Canterlot. Here, we found shelter in this palace and planned on seeking revenge for our fallen leader. We had a couple of spies find out info on when you planned to make your final move, then we positioned ourselves to ambush you. That's where we are now, cold, hungry, and filled with revenge."

Once Twilight finishes her story, my eyes are frowning and my mouth shows my anger. Even Eagle Eyes looks mad.

Twilight then continues.

"We heard rumors of your plan, as well. If Fluttershy told you the plan was something along the lines of letting Equestria free, then you've been tricked and lied to beyond your wits. We get the story, and how convincing it might seem, but it's all fake. The Heats true plan is to use it as a weapon to wage war against anyone who won't fall under the rule of their group. They plan to use it for their own, and kill off the other group members, like you two, leaving the group leaders and Dennis to rule Equestria for all of eternity."

Twilight steps back and all the mane 6 are now looking at me. I build up the courage and say the words in the loudest tone I could.

"You...you LIED to me!" I barely make out to Fluttershy.

"I-" She begins.

"I TRUSTED YOU WITH MY OWN DAMN LIFE." I yell, feeling like e veins in my face are popping out.

"Make that a we." Eagle Eyes barges in, stepping by my side, facing Fluttershy.

"Eagle Eyes? You too? You were my-" Fluttershy begins.

"Shut up before I super glue those stupid pony lips of yours together!"

Fluttershy falls silent.

"Now I don't wanna hear any of your lying bullshit, ok? You're gonna tell us what the hell you've said that's actually true! NOW!"

"E-Everything. I'm being completely honest! I swear!"

"What actually happened to those ponies back at Sl1C3nD1C3 headquarters?"

"I...Uh..." Fluttershy peeps out.

"WHAT IN CELESTIAS NAME HAPPENED TO THOSE POOR SOULS?!" Eagle screams.

"After...after you and Neon got captured, we, um, c-captured everyone of them and b-brought them back to camp and, uh, t-tortured every last one of them by water-boarding or by a tiger bench. T-then we stored the b-bodies near the waterfall near the b-back of camp, hoping that n-no one would notice...I SWEAR THATS ALL I KNOW! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"

I vomit on the floor as Fluttershy finished explaining. Eagle Eyes has the look of disgust on his face. Somehow, the Mane 6 seem content as ever, even Pinkie Pie is keeping a straight face.

"I can't believe-" Eagle starts.

Suddenly, the windows around us shatter and multiple ponies from The Heat crash through. The Mane 6 run it our side of the room and hold their ground, mostly around me and Eagle. Fluttershy, on the other hand, is strangely running towards the windows. She then jumps out one and then disappears in the falling snow.

The Heat ponies then aim Combat Rifles at us. Our own team members now attempting to shoot their own. I reach for Phoenix, but a hoof from my side stops me. We hold our hooves up then, and drop our weapons. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Twilights horn faintly glowing.

"GET ON THE GROUND AND DON'T MOVE!" One of them yells, aiming his gun at all of us, one at a time. We obey. With my hooves behind my head, I get on my knees and aim my head down along with the others. The stallions and mares approach us slowly, gun sights aimed at our skulls. Right as they get close enough to reach out and stab one of us, the roof right in front of us collapses and crushed the terrified military ponies. The dust fills my eyes, and my head begins to burn with a headache.

I then collapse face first and get enveloped in the shroud of dust surrounding us.


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I cough and sputter as water trickles down the side of my mouth. I lay down in a coughing fit as I'm being forced to drink water.

"Just keep drinking." A voice says.

I obey. I drink from the rest of the canteen they're holding and groan. The pain in my eyes is unbearable. It burns like the surface of the sun, probably from the ceiling dust. I try to open them, but it hurts too much to even open them the slightest bit.

"Ugh..." I barely croak out.

"Sh, sh, you'll be fine. Just lie back down and rest."

Magically, as if by command, my mind and body suddenly feels drowsy, so it isn't very hard to obey a command you want to obey.

My body drifts into sleep, and I'm left alone for the day.

I wake up, but this time, I can open my eyes. I then open them wide and find myself staring at bookshelves and wood walls. My bottom lay on a cot as I slowly get up and look outside the window right by my cot.

My eyes sting as I find something outside I never knew existed.

The sun uncovered by any clouds.

Dry ground.

There's no snow, no clouds, nothing.

Only Ponyville as it was. Except, abandoned.

What the hell?

I slap myself to check if I'm in a dream. Nope. This is real.

What had happened when I was asleep?

I look outside for a little longer until I hear footsteps behind me. I turn my head and see Twilight at the top of the stairs.

"Oh good, you're awake!" She says thankfully.

"Wha-what happened to the...to the..." I try to make out, but my sheer confusion Is taking over.

"To the snow?" She finishes.

"Yeah, that's what I meant." I defend.

"Well...it's a long story." She explains.

She walks over to my cot and sits right beside me. I glance at her as she pulls out a jar of green glowing liquid.

"Recognize this?" She asks.

I observe it, confused at what it is at first, then recognize it imminently.

The green liquid in Doves hospital.

"That stuff was in Doves hospital!" I say aloud.

Twilight nods.

"I would expect it to."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask.

Twilight takes a deep breath, and explains.

"Neon, the cold, it...it...it never happened to begin with."

"WHAT?!" I exclaim, gasping at the same time.

"Well...yeah. It never happened. But let me explain first! You see, all the things that ever happened to your in the past couple of months, apart from the deaths of the ponies, were all fake. None of that ever happened. When the cold first began, you see, it wasn't just by accident. Dennis had started it all along. His plan was to brainwash all of Ponyville to fall under his rule. Now, it sounds like the same plan he had with the Sintonite but on this one, he planned on spreading this drug around Equestria to brainwash the ponies and make them see things that never existed."

She shakes the drug and continues on.

"For instance, that base of yours, it didn't exist. Your body thought it did, so it filled in the blanks. Like the cold, your body thought it was real, so it made you feel cold when you should've. Everything, Neon, was fake, and I hate to say it too, but the Sintonite was also fake. The only thing that's real from those past events were the things that Eagle Eyes gave you, and that's because he was drugged along with you."

My head feels dizzy from all this info.

"But...But how could I have been on the drug?"

"Well...when Dennis brainwashed Equestria, he spread his drug through a gas that he stored in a massive container, then set off in an explosion that spread it across Equestria. Everyone, including us, were brainwashed."

"That means..." I begin.

Out of nowhere, I find myself rushing out of the door, speeding past the other mane 6. I run past the abandoned houses, and find myself at the place.

The restaurant.

Twilight was right. The place looks just fine. No trash, no smashed windows, nothing. I run inside and push open the doors, charging past the empty tables. I run into the kitchen and skid to a halt at the door.

Bathrooms.

I slowly push open the door and the smell of rotting meat fills my nose. I walk in and almost vomit.

The ponies, the ones that we killed, had no weapons nearby. Nothing. The room is regular bathroom, no computers, no tables, nothing. The sinks are running and bodies of terrified looking ponies are scattered everywhere, bullet holes covering their flanks. Dry blood stains the walls and floors of the filthy bathroom, along with shells of my own gun. I shakily walk over to one and pick them up. A kid. I had killed an innocent kid.

I then cried.

It's been a while since I've genuinely cried. I can't trust anything anymore, so I don't believe myself when I think of times when I've cried. I look down at my hoof. I now notice that it's not robotic, not to my surprise anyways. The ponies body in my hands makes my body feel cold in the inside.

I'm a monster.

I don't even need to look behind me to notice that someone's there. I don't turn around, I don't care if I get shot at this point.

How many innocents have I killed in the past months?

"Equestria is doomed, isn't it?" I ask aloud.

Silence.

I don't wait for an answer. I keep staring at the dead pony, it's mouth and eyes imbedded with terror.

Why?

Why did I do such a thing?

I feel a hoof on my shoulder. I don't bother to turn around. I just keep staring at the pony.

"It is, if you don't do anything about it, darling."

"Yeah, like what? Tell me, Rarity, how many ponies do you think I've killed? How many died for my fake needs?"

She seems a little taken back.

"It wasn't your-"

"How...MANY?!" I ask, gradually getting louder.

"Over 50 ponies." She admits.

A shock runs through my body. 50 ponies...dead. All because of me. 50 innocent ponies as oblivious as I was.

What is wrong with me?

"Don't lie to me, Rarity. Equestria is doomed, and you know it. Just admit it."

"I...*sigh* I know there's no way to save it, but that's not gonna stop me or the others from trying. We can't have any of these ponies be dead for no reason, darling, we need to make it right for everyone."

"How do I know to trust you?" I ask angered.

"You don't." She admits. "And it's your choice if you want to help us or not."

I think for a little. All the things I've been through. The shootings, the training, all for nothing. What if the Mane 6 were also lying to me?

But, then again...

What do I got to loose?

"Ok." I finally say. "If it means getting revenge on Dennis, then I'll do it."

I look behind me and see Rarity smiling.

"Good. Eagle Eyes said the same thing. Tomorrow, well begin to get you prepared. You think you're ready?" She asks.

I reach into my bag and find what I'm looking for.

The badge Eagle Eyes gave to me.

I look over it and see its in its usual state. The designs still showing, the words still readable, so I make a decision. I put the medal to the dead ponies heart. I whisper to them:

"You didn't die for nothing. I'll make sure of that."

Then, I lay them down, and stand up by Rarity.

"Let's go." I say, slowly walking out of the bathrooms.

"I was hoping you'd say that!" Rarity says cheerfully.

We walk out of the restaurant, and amble back to the house.

With the summer sun setting in the sky.

END!


	17. Q and A's and such

Little page of Q and A's and such.

Hello, fellow reader or writer! I hope you enjoyed this fanfic! This is my first finished one, so I appreciate you reading the whole thing! (Cause it is pretty long, I know! :3)

Now, this page are for unresolved questions that you may have. I apologize if I don't write the question or answer to something that may still be floating around in that pretty little head of yours. If that's so, feel free to shoot a review! But other than that, let's get started!

Q: How can the drug make you see and feel things not real?

A: Well, if you remember, the drug works as a brainwashing and illusion kind of compound. It controls the way your brain sees the world, so it tells your eyes to fill in the blanks, and in this case, the blanks happened to be snow. It also takes control of your feelings. For example, if the drug told the brain it was hot as hell outside, your brain would tell that to your body, making you feel hot. But if the drug made it seem cold, your brain would make you chilly.

Q: What happened to Sin Shadow?

A: Sin Shadow, as described, was DunNeon's father. He was a brilliant inventor as described in chapter 6. His job involved him to move around a lot, so he was never at home much when Neon was growing up. His inventions involved lots of mechanical objects, new chemicals, and other unique devices. The last day he was seen was when he had an important showcase of his inventions. He boarded the train to head down to Manehattan, and was never seen again.

Q: Are you gonna continue this book?

A: Depends. I may make a sequel to this book instead of adding on, but I haven't quite decided yet. Maybe if I hit a certain number of views...(I'm not asking for views by the way).

But good question! I have been considering that ever since the last chapter was posted!

Q: How come this book has many mistakes and seems a bit bland at times?

A: The answer to that is simple, my friend. I am NOT, I repeat NOT a professional writer. This is my first FINISHED fanfic, so I would expect it to be choppy at times. The other fanfic I wrote was called Gun Runners, which was so bad that I didn't even bother continuing it. So I decided to write this, which it turned out to be quite challenging at times. So, the answer in simple terms is:

I am a beginner writer, and this is my first finished fanfic.

Q: Z0MG H4X

A: Yes, yes indeed.

Well, thank you for reading! I hope for the best with this story, and may you write an even better one in seconds!

-Wolfy

Extras cause you seem to like reading on.

Oh hey! I see you're still reading this page! And for that, allow me to write down a horror story in seconds.

Am walking down trail in woods.

Fog covers road ahead.

Bike gear falls off.

Walk.

Sudden rustle in bush.

Scream and throw baseball on ground at it.

It's kitty.

Pick up kitty and bring to vet.

Is demon kitty.

Scream at kitty.

Die

2Spooky4Me

Hey, better story than twilight!

(Overused I know xD)


End file.
